CAIRO, EGYPT — Egypt’s soybean imports have declined sharply in the 2022-23 marketing year as the country faces a foreign currency crunch and economic challenges amid Russia’s war with Ukraine, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

The report showed that soybean imports from October through February stood at 880,000 tonnes, down 62% compared to the same period in 2021-22. The FAS forecasts 2.2 million tonnes of imports for the current marketing year, a 49% decrease from last year’s total of 4.3 million tonnes.

It projects a slight rise in Egyptian soybean imports in 2023-24 to 2.5 million tonnes, attributing the increase to “a slight increase in crushing activity to meet the demand for feed and oil.”

The United States continues to be Egypt’s top soybean supplier. The report noted that in 2021-22 the United States accounted for a record 88% (4.07 million tonnes) of Egypt’s import total. The United States accounted for 76% of the import total from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

“Egyptian traders and crushers demand sustainability and quality of supply, both of which are key features of US-origin soybeans,” the FAS said. “Industry sources report that meals produced from US-origin soybeans show better uniformity, less fiber, and higher protein content than that of other origins. US-origin soybeans also have higher oil content with superior quality.”

Egypt only produces a small fraction of the soybeans needed to meet domestic demand, but output has been trending higher in recent years. Production for 2022-23 was revised upward by the FAS from 34 million tonnes to 56 million, and it forecasts 2023-24 output reaching a record 85 million tonnes.