While Egypt does produce sorghum domestically, it is of the tannin variety and is only used for human consumption. Egypt has never imported sorghum and there is little knowledge among livestock and poultry producers about the benefits of non-tannin sorghum, such as that found in the United States, in feed rations. However, in an effort to lower feed and production costs, the Egyptian government is looking for ways to diversify the number of ingredients available to producers.

With the successful completion of the trials, Egypt will start following the sorghum market and the USGC anticipates the Egyptians will begin purchasing US sorghum when the time is right.

If Egyptian users want non-tannin sorghum, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) or corn gluten, the United States is the only place to go, Dr Hussein Soliman, director of the Council's Egyptian programme, explained.

He said: "They aren't likely to fill a whole ship with any one of these products, so they will be looking for other commodities that the United States can provide, such as corn and soybeans, to fill the remainder of the ship."

Increasing the list of feed ingredients that the United States can provide enhances the total US market share against nearby markets.

Dr Soliman added: "These results mean that expansion in the use of sorghum in broiler rations in Egypt will depend entirely on the economic benefits of sorghum versus other feed grains."