By George Mwangi
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
Egypt corn imports fell by 54% in the first quarter of the current marketing year beginning October, the U.S Agriculture Department said late Wednesday.
Egypt imported around 1.4 million metric tons of corn in the October through December period, down from around 3.0 million tons in the prior-year period, the USDA said in its March "Grain: World Markets and Trade" report.
Corn imports in the first quarter of 2022-23 is the lowest since the 2008-09 marketing year, it said.
In 2022-23, Egypt corn imports are forecast to fall by 8% to 9.0 million tons, the lowest since the 2017-18 marketing year, it said.
"Import restrictions enforced by Egypt in 2022 have compounded ongoing foreign currency challenges, causing major disruptions for Egypt's feed grain traders," the USDA said.
In 2021-22, almost all of corn exports to Egypt were supplied by Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, and the European Union, accounting for 48%, 25%, 17% and 8% of the total share, respectively, it said.
In 2022-23, Egypt's weaker corn imports might also be attributed to lower production in its main suppliers, except Brazil, it said.
"With the season off to an abysmal start, Egypt will need to considerably increase its pace of imports to reach the current import forecast of 9.0 million tons," it said.
Egypt is North Africa's largest producer, importer, and consumer of corn, the USDA said.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-09-23 0543ET
