USSEC recently provided technical service to the Egyptian aquaculture industry.
Tim O'Keefe, USSEC aquaculture and feed milling consultant, traveled to Cairo April 13 – 16 to provide his expertise to the Egyptian aquaculture industry in a USSEC program coordinated by USSEC – MENA.
Egypt is the world’s second largest producer of tilapia. This three-day visit revealed that its aquaculture industry, including culture of high-value species such as sea bass, sea bream, and mullet is rapidly growing.
The country currently has 34 small- to medium-sized mills producing aquafeed, with annual aquafeed production at 511,000 metric tons (MT). 60 percent of this feed is extruded and 40 percent is pelleted. The current average inclusion rate of soy in aquafeed is 20+ percent with more than 90 percent U.S. soybean meal or meal that is locally produced from U.S. beans.
Feed mill owners and local soy crushers cite consistent quality of U.S. meal and beans as the primary reason for their preference.
This market for U.S. soy is “on the move,” says Dr. O’Keefe. Aquafeed requirements in Egypt are projected to be 2,600,000 MT per year by 2028. At the current average soy inclusion rate of 20 percent, this feed will require at least 500,000 MT of soybean meal per year. Continued marketing efforts by USSEC could easily increase the average inclusion rate of U.S. Soy to 35 percent, equal to more than 900,000 MT per year.