These included 139,000 tons of corn worth $50 million, 60,000 tons of soybean worth $45 million, and feed additives worth $1.4 million.

The step is part of Egypt's efforts to secure corn and soy fodder, which mainly comprise feed for poultry, a main source of protein for Egyptians.

The government has been active to secure the release of production inputs and fodder from Egyptian ports in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

From 24 February to 23 March, Egypt released 476,000 tons of corn and soy fodder worth $223 million.

This brings the total amount of fodder released from 16 October 2022 to 23 March 2023 to 3.388 million tons, including 2.426 million tons of corn and 962,000 tons of soybean as well as feed additives with a total value of $1.671 billion.

In recent months, the prices of eggs and poultry have soared in the Egyptian market.

The price hikes started as producers reported problems in the supply of feed due to supplies stranded in ports over curbs previously applied on import finance due to a hard currency crunch.

The appreciation of the dollar against the Egyptian pound since March 2022 had also added to the pressure.

This led to a drop in supply to the poultry market and the exit of some producers.

The government has recently announced increasing frozen chicken imports to meet people's needs at affordable prices, especially with the increase in demand during the holy month of Ramadan.