The solution in the stock market and corn .. Is Egypt succeed in reducing prices after preventing the import of poultry?

Mohamed Seif Eldin-Cairo

Moments of the Egyptian Arbaeen's tongue, Mohsen Abul-Enein, held his face and showed signs of surprise when the seller told him that chicken prices rose three pounds per kilogram, less than a week after the decision to ban the import of poultry from abroad.

According to the transactions of the last two days, the average price of a kilogram of white chicken (the most prevalent in Egypt) is about 25 pounds, while the price on the farm is 20 pounds (the dollar equals about 16.5 pounds).

We approached the 40-year-old to find out why he was surprised, but asked: "How can the government prevent the importation of chickens to support the industry at home, raising prices like this?

The Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the General Union of Egyptian Poultry Producers, decided this week to stop importing poultry and its products from abroad, in a move it said to protect the domestic poultry industry.

Divergent views
Opinions differed on the government decision, where some see it as a "media show", because of the weakness of the gap in the domestic market and covered by import, and can be avoided through some measures such as the expansion of the cultivation of maize and support small breeders, while others stressed that it is inevitable and necessary To promote local industry.

Egyptian farmers' union Hussein Abdel Rahman believes that stopping the import of poultry products saved the domestic production of poultry, pointing out that the decision came in time to save the local poultry market from collapse.

Former farmer 's captain Abdel Rahman Shoukry says the success of the decision requires reform of the poultry system in Egypt, with the system' s owners have a clear and honest vision that seeks to help the local producer and support small - scale manufacturers.

He added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the Poultry Union in Egypt does not accept only large breeders, and neglect in turn, medium and small breeders.

For his part, the head of the poultry division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Abdel Aziz El-Sayed described the decision as a "media show", noting in press statements that it was supposed to apply a fair price per kilogram of poultry, with a fair profit margin for the trader to prevent the exit of breeders from the system, rather than prevent Import, especially since the consumption gap is weak.

Egypt has about 47,000 poultry farms, according to official estimates, which produce 1.3 billion chickens, and provide 95% of the needs of Egyptians, who consume about 112 thousand tons per year, meaning that imports include only 5% of the needs of the local market.

The secret to the yellow corn
Prices seem to continue to rise in the coming days significantly and will not return to previous declines, due to the entry of winter and the high cost of heating means and production requirements and feed, according to Abdel Aziz said.

Rising prices are also linked largely to maize, the main ingredient in feed, which is imported from abroad in large quantities and controlled by certain companies, according to a number of poultry farmers of the island Net.

Egypt produces about 3 million tons of maize annually, while importing 9 million tons to fill the consumption deficit, which costs the state about one billion and 700 million dollars.

Yellow corn represents about 85% of poultry feed and the rest are concentrates and medicines, which means that its cultivation is the beginning of eliminating the high prices of white meat in Egypt.

The import of yellow maize in Egypt is dominated by five companies, mostly businessmen close to the regime, headed by Ayman al-Gemayel, nicknamed the "yellow maize whale", who has a strong relationship with former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

Gemayel, who was one of the defendants in the bribery case of former Minister of Agriculture Salah al-Din Hilal, is seeking to expand in the poultry sector to impose control by buying a number of large companies operating in the field, as well as control over the import of maize.

In 2017, Gemayel founded Cairo Three Eye Poultry, and a year later acquired Al Ahram Poultry, according to local media reports.

There are 200 companies operating in the poultry industry, of which 8 major companies control a large proportion of the local market.

Former farmers' union chief Abdel Rahman Shoukry warned of what he called corruption links between importers and decision makers in the Egyptian government, stressing that it would negatively affect the local industry.

The solution in the poultry exchange
To control poultry prices in Egypt and protect consumers from the greed of traders and monopolistic practices, agricultural research professor Abdel Tawab Barakat believes that the Egyptian market needs several measures, especially the activation of the poultry exchange.

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Barakat linked the success of the poultry exchange to be under a cooperative management away from government corruption and large companies, and set production costs transparently, and then announce a sale price that achieves a profit margin for the breeder and allows him to cover labor costs and operating expenses to keep the industry going.

The public poultry exchange in the city of Banha in Qalyubia governorate (Nile Delta in northern Egypt) controls its prices and announces it on a daily basis.However, the prices are currently controlled in the local market by a group of brokers numbering about 13 people, according to the owners of three farms of the island Net.

The government says it has reached out to the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and Qalyubia to provide 200 outlets for poultry products to reduce the price gap between the producer and the consumer, and is preparing to expand according to requests from producers to control the market.