Egyptian poultry sector undergoes structural changes

New initiatives have come from the larger integrations to increase Egypt's production and sales of eggs and poultry meat, according to Cairo Poultry Group (CPC).

 

Adel Al-Alfi, new general manager of CPC, says that with the development of larger integrated organisations, the Egyptian poultry industry will see more stability and an improvement in efficiency and product quality.

 

Following two dramatic years of having to deal with the avian influenza virus (AI), as well as extremely high feed prices, new initiatives have come from the larger integrations to increase production and sales of eggs and poultry meat.

 

Every year in the first week of July, poultry producers throughout the Middle East and North Africa plan a trip to Cairo to visit Agrena, the annual poultry and livestock show for the region. This year, some 50,000 visitors from all over the region came to meet, talk about business and attend the exhibition.

 

Considering the distressing situation of the Egyptian poultry industry, event manager Mohammed El Soufy is looking forward that, if in the longer term, the show can remain an annual event.

 

"Egypt's poultry industry is changing rapidly and in the near future will exist only out of a small number of large integrated poultry companies and an unknown number of small-scale or backyard producers. His company has not been hit by AI due to its stringent bio-security measures and initiative to train its staff in disease prevention," he said.

 

"It will take at least another one and a half years before our home market has recovered from AI cuts and production is back from today's 1.2 million to two million broilers per day," Al-Alfi continued. Egypt's 80 million population is fond of poultry meat and eggs, but still, due to low incomes, consumption of eight kilogrammes per capita is far from what we see in developed countries.

 

"Our government helps the industry indirectly to get back on its feet by limiting imports of cheap poultry meat from Brazil or the US and banning the import of hatching eggs. The import of day-old chicks is allowed, but in practise it is limited due to availability and price. The protection the government offers has little to do with its sympathy for the industry but more with its goal to provide and protect over 10 million jobs in the country. It leaves industry-related issues to the industry itself, but was helpful when the industry asked for help to better control AI by banning live bird markets in the big cities as of mid 2009," Al-Alfi said.

 

Al-Afli's vision for the future of the industry was partly confirmed at Agrena, where only a few large integrations were present, such as Al Watania. In its video presentation the company expressed that within the next four years it will expand its operation to capture 50% of the Egyptian market. It is building seven broiler farms each with 12 houses (31,000-33,000 birds) and a processing plant with three lines. In addition there will be a further processing plant with six lines.