Egypt’s soybean imports on rise

Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest importer and consumer of soybeans, is forecast to import 4.2 million tonnes of the oilseed in marketing year 2025-26, up 5% from the previous year, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

The FAS said the increase is due to an anticipated upswing in feed consumption and favorable foreign currency exchange. The same trends are expected to drive soybean imports up 29% to an estimated 4 million tonnes in 2024-25 for the country of over 114 million people.

Dairy, poultry and fish producers are critically reliant upon imports as the country’s domestic soybean production is anticipated to cover only 2% of domestic demand in 2025-26, the FAS said. US-origin soybeans account for 70% of Egypt’s imports.

“Soybean meal is the major source of protein in feed rations and used extensively in feed due to higher quality,” the FAS said. “Feed use of soymeal is forecast to be up by 3.1% compared to the previous marketing year.”

Egypt is forecast to produce a scant 85,000 tonnes of soybeans from 30,000 hectares in 2025-26 on par with the previous year. Total consumption is seen at 4.2 million tonnes, up from an estimated 4 million in 2024-25 and 3.16 million in 2023-24.

“In Egypt, domestic production of soybeans and sunflowerseeds is insufficient to cover local consumption,” the FAS said. “High production costs and challenges with contract farming have always been a limiting factor in increasing production.”

The FAS forecast of Egypt’s oilseeds crush capacity to increase by 5% to 4.2 million tonnes in 2025-26 compared to the previous marketing year estimate, due to anticipated increase in the imported supply of soybeans. Crushing capacity in Egypt hovers around 9 million to 10 million tonnes, and crush facilities usually operate at 55% to 60% of their actual capacity, the FAS noted.

Egypt’s soymeal production in 2025-26 (October-September) is forecast at 3.15 million tonnes, up 5% year on year. The FAS also revised its estimate for 2024-25 up 500,000 tonnes to 3 million tonnes. Feed demand is expected to drive soymeal consumption to 3.3 million tonnes in 2025-26, an annual increase of 3.1%.

Tags: soybean, imports, Egypt