Egypt works to speed up release of largest possible amount of poultry feed amid shortage crisis

CAIRO – 17 October 2022: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said coordination is underway with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to speed up the release of the largest possible amount of feed to support pourtly industry.

This comes amid a shortage in feed nationwide, which led some of the workers in farms to execute chicks. Footage showing execution of chicks circulated on social media has stirred anger among people.

Madbouli held a meeting with state officials and small breeders to discuss means of ending the feed shortage crisis.

Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed El-Quseir; Mostafa El-Sayyad, the minister’s deputy for livestock, fish, and pourtly affairs; Gamal Negm, deputy head of the CBE; and Mahmoud El-Anany, president of the Egyptian Pourtly Association attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Madbouli said the feed shortage crisis took place due to the repercussions of the current global crisis, which affected multiple goods and other products.

The state is moving to alleviate the negative impact of this crisis and to secure foreign currency in accordance with the country’s priorities, especially regarding food, fuel, and production requirements, including feed, Madbouli said.

In this regard, the state is exerting big efforts to overcome the problem, the premier added.

For his part, Negm noted that the CBE communicates daily with the Cabinet and the relevant ministers to tackle the implications of the current global crisis due to the Russia Ukraine War in order to secure the state’s needs.

Since the beginning of October, the state release shipments of soybean consisting of 60,000 tons at a cost of $41 million in addition to 62,000 tons of soybean released on Sunday at a cost of $44 million, Negm said.

This brings the total amount of soybean released in October to 122,000 tons, the CBE deputy governor noted. Also, a shipment worth $40 million was released this month, he added.

The premier ordered weekly coordination by the CBE and Ministry of Agriculture with the Egyptian Pourtly Association on a certain quantity of feed to be released per week in order to ensure pourtly market stability.

Madbouli also affirmed the necessity to monitor the distribution of weekly amounts of released feed.

The premier also ordered working on expanding contract farming, especially for soybean.

He noted that the state currently has enough seeds to plant about 150,000 feddans of soybean and therefore farmers should be encouraged to expand its cultivation.