– Marina Milad:
– Infographic / Michael Adel
The bags that come to greet Youssef from the chicken coop are no longer what they used to be. his table around which five people gather; He now relies on one chicken instead of two and sometimes without. He also eliminated the “chicken box” and “liver” items.
The reason Tahia knows this is that she’s surprised by the rising prices of these products like so many other things. But the main reason behind the high price is the lack of necessary feed for poultry since last October.
A new page from the dossier of the repercussions of the war and the economic crisis. It is accompanied by constant promises by officials of a solution, but the situation on the ground has seen nothing new. An MP recently emerged to warn of the collapse of the entire sector in 40 days at the latest. This expectation has also been confirmed by the leaders of the sector, whose investments amount to about 100 billion pounds, employ 3 million people, and its products occupy the most important place on our tables.
Last October…a video clip circulated on social media of a poultry farmer killing chicks by strangulation by placing them inside large plastic bags. This is due to his inability to feed her.
It was enough of a scene to announce that something catastrophic was happening.
This clip passed Tahia Youssef (a housewife) as she browsed through her phone, but like the strange videos spread across communication platforms, it didn’t stop her. On the other hand, Haitham Al-Rifai (a poultry farmer in one of the companies) was fully aware of what was happening and started feeling its impact on them. He considered this behavior “a way to get their voices and their message across.”
The uproar caused by this video and wanted by its owners; In the same month, the government pushed for meetings with stakeholders and industry officials. One of them was attended by Tharwat Al-Zaini (Vice President of the Union of Poultry Producers).
Everyone has been talking about Egypt’s fodder needs, which amount to 950,000 tons a month, split between corn and soybeans, and that there are huge quantities of them held up in ports because poultry farmers can’t find dollars to pay for them, he says.” Al-Zaini,” who came out of the meeting with categorical promises. fix everything.
Egypt imports over 80% of forage from America, Brazil and Ukraine. Importers have recently been suffering from a shortage of production needs and imported goods due to the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war. In addition, the Central Bank issued a decision last February to stop collection activity on all import transactions and instead use letters of credit, with the exception of some goods.
Canceled collection documents, which allowed importers to transfer the value of their goods to suppliers after submitting documents specifying specific amounts and date of collection, which could be paid in instalments. In the case of documentary credits, the bank acts as an intermediary between the importer and the supplier, guaranteeing the former the obtainment of goods conforming to the specifications, and assisting the supplier in obtaining all his rights, since the importer pay the full value of the commercial transaction to the bank before completing the process.
About two months after that meeting, according to Tharwat al-Zaini, the situation worsened despite the release of some of the withheld forage, according to the agriculture minister. However, Al-Zaini claims that this is “a completely insufficient figure for the needs of the market”.
when; The crisis has allowed the accumulation of about 3 million tons in ports, and has created a black market that sells importers a ton at times its price, according to the “Al-Zaini” hadith; How a tonne of soybeans went to £30,000 instead of £16,000, and a tonne of maize to £13.5,000 instead of £9,000.
Now, Tahia Youssef remembered the video of the execution of chicks, which she had seen earlier, and it was not like that. She has felt the impact over the past month and a half and that the chicken she relied on after being let down by meat prices has not remained stable on her table. This forced her to reduce her weekly shopping list from two 10-pound chickens to one, and she removed “chicken bread,” “shish,” and “liver” from it.
Tahia has three children and does not have a fixed salary, because her husband works as a taxi driver. So she says, “Chicken is the only thing I could buy besides veggies…but 3 weeks ago I didn’t.”
As for the Haitham Al-Rifai company, which owns poultry farms and a feed factory, its atmosphere and work have been completely disturbed. They intensified contacts with the feed supplier companies, so that they would receive an answer: “The goods are in port!” And at best, others can provide it, but at an exaggerated increase.
Haitham, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years, says, “We thought our 2006 crisis was our worst, but we haven’t seen as much disaster as this time.”
2006 was a dark year in the life of this sector, as the poultry market was paralyzed due to the spread of flu. The World Health Organization for Animal Health has also stopped importing poultry and poultry products from Egypt. Exports going to more than 11 African and Asian countries, estimated at about 6.8 million US dollars annually.
However, the situation quickly stabilized in the local market, at least according to Haitham, and then a turning point occurred in 2020, when the government announced it could export poultry again after a 14-year hiatus as 14 Egyptian facilities were shut down. able to obtain accreditation from the World Organization for Animal Health as being free from avian influenza.
As soon as the industry caught its breath and came back strong, it ran into a monster called “Corona virus”, and its exceptional measures affected it, and the market witnessed a drop in demand due to the closure of restaurants and hotels, which make up about 25% of the total output of poultry farms – according to Muhammad Al Shafei (Vice President of the Union of Producers).
And when things are stable again. Subsequent price jumps exhausted the market once again, so Tahia Youssef completely changed her lifestyle and shopping. Thus, his family is one of 74 percent of the total Egyptian households that have reduced their food consumption, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
That change was evident to Izzat Sadiq (owner of a poultry shop). His customers have been confused when making a buying decision about whether to cut back or abandon chicken, especially when the price of white chicken recently rose by £6 on consecutive days. “This is happening for the first time in the history of poultry,” says Ezzat, who inherited the profession from his father and grandfather. He and his brothers own shops in Cairo, Alexandria and the governorates of Upper Egypt, for which they buy 3 to 4 tons of birds a week.
A man like Ezzat can tell that sales are down about 25%.
Despite this, the prices that have increased in the market are not keeping pace with the increase in the price of feed, which has been around 110% since last January, according to Tharwat Al-Zaini (Vice President of Poultry Producers Union) , who explains: ‘If the price of a carton of eggs was £72, it would cost over £80.’
The difference between the cost and the selling price determined by the poultry exchange caused the company where Haitham works to lose nearly £2 million in one month.
And the loss didn’t come by itself, because their factory, after carrying around 300 tons of forage, no longer produces less than 40 tons. The company was also forced to close the fattening sector and lay off around 60 workers (managers, engineers and workers), closed a farm containing 40,000 chickens (mothers) and sold them.
Many, like Haitham Company, get rid of chickens before the production cycle is completed, which will cause a huge food gap, according to “Al-Zaini”, who says: “If the situation continues like this, we will quickly move towards loss of the industry in which we have achieved self-sufficiency.” We will lose cheaper animal protein.”
Mostafa Madbouly (prime minister) appeared at a meeting a few days ago to say that “the state won’t allow it”. And he spoke of “coordinating and monitoring” what is happening in this sector, meeting with feed supplier companies to examine complaints received from farm owners.
Tharwat Al-Zeini sat in front of the TV watching this meeting, wondering, “Why has the state been silent for so long?”
for thousands of years; Poultry appeared in Egypt. It is said to have been one of the most important sources of food for the ancient Egyptians. Over time it has become the most important popular food. For the first time in its history, warnings are appearing that the end of this year could witness its end.
If the worst-case scenario occurs, Haitham Al-Rifai (poultry farmer) has no choice but to travel to countries like Iraq or Jordan, which he says, “There are opportunities for them already and in the same field.” As for Yusuf’s greeting; He didn’t know of an alternative that could replace the chicken on his table, so he says: “If we look for a protein that provides healthy and affordable nutrition … we will find only chicken!” Then he laughs sarcastically and completely: “This situation will force us to start fasting; neither meat nor chicken.”
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