Egypt aims to boost wheat self-sufficiency

ith only limited opportunity to improve wheat yields due to shortages of arable land and water, Egypt is looking to tighten up the storage and logistics links in its grain supply chain to reduce import costs and bolster food security.

Egypt’s annual wheat consumption is between 15m and 20m tonnes, the exact figure being imprecise as growers often hold back up to half of their harvest for personal consumption and seed stock for the coming season’s planting. Of the total consumption, Egypt regularly imports 10m tonnes or more of wheat per year on international markets, making it the world’s largest importer of the grain.

These imports impose a significant drain on Egypt’s currency reserves. The bulk of the $4.6bn the state spends annually on food imports goes towards buying grain. Wheat represented the largest single subsidy expenditure after fuel price support, which was unexpectedly cut at the start of July, increasing the prices of car fuel and natural gas by more than 70% and driving up food prices by 20% according to economists.