Egypt’s authorities release 237K tons of corn, soybeans worth $107M stuck at ports

CAIRO – 8 May 2023:  Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture Elsayed al- Quseir, said that during the period from April 28 to May 3, 237K tons of corn and soybeans worth about $107 million, were released from ports, in an increase of 22,000 tons over last week.

Al- Quseir, confirmed that the release of fodder supplies is continuing in coordination with the Central Bank, in light of the directives of Prime Minister, Mustafa Madbouly.

 He explained that the release included 189K tons of corn at about $68 million, about 48,000 tons of soybeans, at a value of about $36 million, and feed additives at about $3.4 million.

The total amount released during the period from October 16 to May 3 was 4.5 million tons, including 3.3 million tons of corn, 1.2 million tons of soybeans and feed additives, with a total amount of $2.2 billion.

In December, the Egyptian Cabinet announced plans to release goods at the ports, especially food products, medicines, and production requirements, which have been stuck at ports for months due to shortage in foreign currency amid the global economic crisis.

This came shortly after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced canceling the letter of credit (LC) system as a requirement for imports.

The CBE’s February decision to oblige banks to deal with LCs was blamed for causing Egyptian ports to be full of stuck goods worth billions of dollars.

The CBE said in a statement that it decided to restore the documentary collections system for imported goods.

The decision to enforce the LCs system, effective since March, had required Egyptian banks to accept only LCs for imports in a bid to curb dollar outflows from the country.