Egypt, one of the top wheat importers, has bought 2.5 million tons of wheat this season from local farmers, according to a cabinet statement released on Thursday.

The procurement this season has increased by a small amount compared to the 2024 period.

Official documents obtained by the newspaper show that the government has purchased 2.55 million tonnes, a significant increase from the 2.53 million tonnage bought in the same period of last year. This indicates an improvement in the harvest.

Underperformance

In the first couple of weeks.

Even though a

Reduced Prices

The government is expecting to purchase 4 to 5 millions tons of wheat this season from local farmers. It has increased the price by 10%. This will leave it with 6 million tons that must be imported to supply heavily subsidised bread to more than 69,000,000 Egyptians.

The government buys 3.5 million tonnes of local produce from farmers.

According to Sherif Farouk, Egypt's strategic grain reserve is expected to last 4-1/2 months. Vegetable oils would be sufficient for 3.7-months as of 7 May. Reporting by Momen Said Atallah and Mohamed Ezz, Writing by Tala RAMAdan, Editing by Aidan Lewis & Louise Heavens

(source: Reuters)