Egypt: Grain and Feed Annual
MY 2016/17 wheat imports are forecast at 11 million metric tons (MMT). MY2015/16 imports are revised downward to 10.6 MMT from USDA’s estimate of 11.5 MMT. The decrease results from limited foreign exchange which has affected imports in general since early 2015 and confusion about applying zero tolerance for ergot in wheat, leaving traders unwilling to supply wheat. Growing feed demand by the poultry, aquaculture, and livestock sectors will increase corn imports to 8.5 MMT in 2016/2017. Post is revising MY2015/16 rice exports downwards to 250,000 MT from USDA’s estimate of 400,000 MT, as Egypt’s rice is not internationally competitive under current government policy. Post also reduced the MY 2015/16 milled rice consumption estimate by 14.2 percent from USDA’s estimate of 4 MMT due to shortages of rice supplies in the government’s subsidy program.
