New farms entering operation in Egypt have pushed egg prices down by nearly 35% during the last several months, Dr Tharwat El-Zeiny, vice president of the Poultry Producers Union, recently told local press.
In 2025, Egypt is expected to produce 16 billion eggs, which is nearly 25% more than the previous year. In terms of birds, the country is expected to grow around 1.6 million heads of chicken, El-Sayed said.
“We consume 4.5 million chickens and 40 million eggs daily, and 89% of poultry production comes from the private sector,” El-Zeiny said.
Farmers face losses
Poultry and egg prices are expected to decline further, as current production levels are sufficient to meet domestic demand.
However, the drop in prices, though beneficial for consumers, discourages farmers.
According to Abdel Aziz El-Sayed, head of the poultry division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, the average farmgate broiler meat price stands at EGP 61 (EUR 1.1) per kg, which is below production costs.
Poultry prices are not high enough to cover operational costs, due to the weak purchasing power of the Egyptian population, which in turn hampers demand.
Against this background, Egyptian poultry farmers call on the government to scale up support to the industry.
El-Zeiny called the General Authority for Supply Commodities, a government agency, to consider state interventions.
In particular, he said, under such interventions the state can purchase and store poultry during peak seasons and periods of high consumption.
In addition, he advocated for restrictions on poultry imports, since the domestic market is already self-sufficient and even has a production surplus.
Exports on the agenda
To improve the market situation, El-Sayed said Egyptian poultry companies are considering launching exports. Sales to foreign customers will help to meet several goals.
“Live poultry exports are not called to raise prices abnormally, but only to help farmers achieve a fair profit, preserving the poultry industry in Egypt.
“It will also contribute to the entry of dollar revenue that is used to purchase feed, soybeans, and corn,” El-Sayed said.
Over the past several years, Egyptian poultry farmers have been consistently complaining about rising feed costs, which depend heavily on imported grains affected by global market fluctuations and a weaker Egyptian pound.
There are also concrete export plans on the table. For example, El-Sayed said that Jordan became the first country to submit a request to import poultry from Egypt. This request is currently under consideration.
(Poultry World)
