March 8, 2023

Egypt releases more corn and soybean fodder stuck at ports

Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation has released 137,000 tonnes of corn and soybean fodder valued at about US$67 million between 24 February and 2 March, Ahram Online reported.

From the 137,000 tonnes of grains, the amount included 96,000 tons of corn worth US$34.4 million, 41,000 tons of soybeans worth US$30 million and feed additives worth around US$2.2 million.

The ministry said this was part of the government's efforts to secure the release of production inputs stuck at ports, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

In total, more than 2.8 million tonnes of fodder, including more than 2 million tonnes of corn, 839,000 tonnes of soybeans, and feed additives with a combined value of US$1.4 billion, were released between 16 October 2022 and 25 January.

Poultry and egg prices in Egypt have been rising, following complaints from producers about feed supply issues brought on by backlogs of supplies stuck in ports as a result of curbs previously implemented on import financing due to a hard currency crunch.

There was also added pressure from the appreciation of the dollar against the Egyptian pound since March 2022.

As a result, the supply of poultry in the Egyptian market decreased, and some producers exited the industry.

Due to the anticipated rise in demand during the holy month of Ramadan, the Egyptian government recently announced increasing frozen chicken imports to provide the meat at reasonable prices.

-      Ahram Online