January 25, 2023

Egypt's poultry and egg prices expected to drop after release of fodders from ports

El-Sayed El-Quseir, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, said poultry and egg prices are expected to drop after large amounts of fodders stuck at the country's ports were released, Ahram Online reported.

Over US$1 billion worth of fodder at Egyptian ports were released between 16 October to 19 January equivalent to 2.1 million tonnes of fodders. This includes 1.5 million tons of corn and 623 tons of soybeans.

The minister said the government released 300,000 tonnes of fodders worth US$135 million between 12 to 19 January. This included 242,000 tons of corn worth about US$87 million, and 55,000 tons of soybeans worth about US$42 million.

He said these successive large releases will have favourable effects on the decline in the prices of eggs and poultry as well as the stability of the markets.

A rise in the cost of fodder and other production costs has caused a recent spike in the price of eggs and poultry, on which many Egyptians with limited incomes have come to rely more and more as a source of protein instead of more expensive red meat.

After the authorities implemented restrictions on import financing due to the lack of hard currency last winter, massive amounts of imported goods accumulated at ports, leading to acute shortages in fodder.

By the end of last December, the Egyptian government had gradually lifted these restrictions after agreeing to a new loan agreement with the IMF and adopting a flexible exchange rate to get out of a tight cash situation.

-      Ahram Online