Egypt Corn: Extra Feed Lines Are Coming
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In 2022, the production volume of Corn in Egypt amounted to 7.4 million metric tons (MMT). This increased compared to 2020, when 6.4 MMT of the product were produced. Since 2010, the production of Corn peaked in 2021 and 2022, while it was lowest in 2011 at 5.5 MMT. Egypt’s yellow Corn production covers less than 20 percent of its feed demand needs. Imports are supplementing the feed manufacturing industry’s expanded production.
FAS Cairo estimates Corn production in MY 2022/23 (Oct – Sept) at 7.7 MMT, up from Post’s estimate in MY 2021/22 by 3.2 percent. MY 2022/23 harvested Corn area also increased by 3.2 percent. Increased area cultivated with Corn is attributed to higher Corn prices in the local market, which rose by more than 50-60 percent amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This prompted many farmers to increase Corn cultivation, especially with the anticipated increase in demand by the feed industry.
One of the primary goals of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) is to increase feed Corn acreage and yields by incorporating improved extension services, the use of higher-yielding one-way and three-way cross hybrids, encouraging growers to plant during ideal times, and enhancing marketing channels. To achieve this goal, MALR developed a much-publicized marketing channel, which included formulating a contract between MALR’s Center for Contract Farming and the Union of Poultry Producers (UPP) to purchase Corn at market price with a predetermined minimum price of EGP 6000 ($309.7) per metric ton.
Cairo forecasts Egypt’s total Corn consumption in MY 2022/23 (Oct – Sept) at 16.4 MMT, up by 1.86 percent from the MY 2021/22 estimate of 16.1 MMT. Post’s consumption estimate for MY 2021/22 was revised downwards by 1.82 percent from USDA official estimates of 16.4 MMT. The decrease in consumption in MY 2021/22 is also attributed to a reduction in feed and residual consumption by almost 2.15 percent from the USDA official estimate of 13.9 MMT. The post attributes the feed and residual consumption decrease in MY 2021/22 to poultry feed prices increasing by 40-50 percent. This was driven by a more than 50 percent rise in the price of Corn in the local market compared to the previous marketing year, thus placing a heavy burden on small and medium size breeders.
Post anticipates the poultry sector’s feed consumption to grow by almost 1.86 percent in MY 2022/23 as the more prominent producers consolidate, vertical integration increases, and Corn prices decline. Additional feed lines are coming online, adding to existing poultry, aquaculture, and cattle feed milling capacities.
Egypt consumes 1 MMT of Corn for wet milling processes. Five major Corn wet milling
companies are operating in Egypt, and their goal is to expand capacity in the coming 2-3 years. Cairo 3A Company has the largest share of the wet milling market in Egypt (more than 60 percent). It is worth noting that Cairo 3A is also the leading importer of Corn over the past five years.
Corn Import in Egypt
As per the AgFlow data, Egypt imported 3.8 million tons of Corn from Brazil in 2022, followed by Argentina (2 million tons), Ukraine (1.1 million tons), and Romania (0.5 million tons). Total import volume reached 7.5 million tons last year and 145,009 tons last month.
FAS Cairo forecasts Egypt’s Corn imports in MY 2022/23 at 9.0 MMT, down by 2.17 percent from Post’s MY 2021/22 estimate of 9.2 MMT on a more significant crop production that would moderate import needs. Egypt’s top three Corn suppliers in CY 2022 (Jan-Aug) were Brazil (2.76 MMT), Argentina (2.0 MMT), and Ukraine (800,700 MT).
Other sources: USDA
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