Fodder prices in Egypt have skyrocketed in recent months, leading to rising costs of milk and meat production, said Tarek al-Toubgy, a member of the board of the Egyptian Society for Dairy Products, on Tuesday. Toubgy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the prices of green fodder, such as silage and alfalfa, rose from LE100 per ton last year to LE650, and that corn feed and soy prices rose 60 and 18 percent respectively. Toubgy said the increase in fodder prices led to a 50 percent increase in the cost of meat production and a 10 percent increase in the cost of dairy production. He called on the government to stop all exports of green fodder and to direct them to the expansion of food security programs in Egypt. Toubgy went on to say that the high price of fodder had led a large number of small farmers to sell their herds, which will ultimately affect domestic market supplies. Meanwhile, Mohamed al-Shafei, head of the Egyptian Federation of Poultry Producers, said he supported the demands to halt the export of green fodder. Translated from the Arabic Edition
