Egypt’s Soybean Imports Are Forecast to Grow by 11%
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FAS Cairo (Post) forecasts Egypt’s Soybean production in marketing year MY 2022/23 (October–September) at 34,000 metric tons, up by 9,000 metric tons from Post’s estimate in MY 2021/22. Post attributes the rise to an increase in total area harvested by 3,000 hectares. MY 2021/22 area harvested and production remain unchanged at 9,000 hectares (HA) and 25,000 metric tons (MT). The increase in area harvested in MY 2022/23 is attributed to contract farming between Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) and growers, as well as increased distribution of certified Soybean seeds.
The Soybean growing season runs from May to August and is mainly planted in middle and upper Egypt. Domestic Soybean is primarily used in producing full-fat Soybeans, which are used in feed rations for lactating cows and broiler chickens at 2-3 percent. FAS Cairo forecasts Egypt’s Soybean consumption in MY 2022/223 at roughly 4.05 million metric tons (MMT), up 6.6 percent from Post’s earlier MY 2021/22 estimate of 3.79 million metric tons, which remains unchanged from the USDA official projection.
Egypt’s domestic crush capacity in MY 2022/23 will reach about 12,121 MT/day, up from 11,363 MT/day in the marketing year 2021/22. The increase in domestic crush capacity is attributable to the establishment of new crushing facilities. Soybean crush operations in Egypt are dominated by companies with over 80 percent of the total volume: SOYVEN and the Alex Seeds Company. Except for these two companies, most crush facilities usually operate at about 50 percent of their capacity. Egypt’s domestic consumption of Soybeans for food use in MY 2022/23 will remain at roughly 17,000 metric tons, similar to Post’s earlier MY 2021/22 estimate of 17,000 metric tons, which remains unchanged from the USDA official projection.
Egypt’s Soybean Trade
FAS Cairo forecasts Egypt’s Soybean imports in MY 2022/23 at 4.0 MMT, up 400,000 MT from Post’s MY 2021/22 estimate of 3.6 million metric tons. The post attributes the increase in imports to expanded local crush capacity. Post’s MY2021/22 import estimate remains unchanged from the USDA official estimate of 3.6 MMT. According to AgFlow data, Egypt imported 3.9 million tons of Soybeans in 2022. The country purchased 147,076 tons of Soybeans from the United States in Jan-Feb 2023, followed by Romania (7,500 tons) and Ukraine (6,300 tons).
Egypt imported some 17.31 MMT of Soybeans between MY 2016/17 and MY 2020/21. Throughout that period, Egypt’s leading suppliers were the United States (12.5 MMT), Argentina (2.05 MMT), Ukraine (1.67 MMT), Uruguay (437,000 MT), Brazil (360,000 MT), and Paraguay (195,000 metric tons). U.S.-origin Soybean exports to Egypt have risen dramatically from MY 2016/17 to MY 2020/21, accounting for 72.2 percent of the total beans exported to Egypt.
MY 2020/21, U.S.-origin Soybean exports to Egypt amounted to 2.53 MMT, representing 70.2 percent of total Soybeans exported to the Egyptian market. Other Soybean export origins in MY 2020/21 include Argentina (595,000 MT), Uruguay (173,000 MT), Brazil (112,000 MT), Ukraine (86,000 MT), Canada (83,000 MT), and Paraguay (28,000 metric tons).
Between October 2021 and January 2022, Egypt already imported some 1.81 MMT of Soybeans, with 90 percent of the volume coming from the United States; October 2020 and through January 2021, Egypt imported some 1.54 MMT of Soybeans, with 89.6 percent of the volume coming from the United States.
Egyptian traders and crushers demand sustainability and supply quality, both critical features of U.S.-origin Soybean. Industry sources report that meals produced from U.S.-origin Soybeans show better uniformity, less fiber, and higher protein content than that of other origins. U.S.-origin Soybeans also have higher oil content with superior quality.
Other sources: USDA
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