Egypt buys three million tonnes of domestic wheat

Egypt's government has purchased three million tonnes of domestic wheat, three quarters of the targeted amount of four million tonnes, since the harvest season’s beginning in mid-April, the agriculture ministry said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.


Last year, the government purchased a record 5.3 million tonnes of domestic wheat, up from 3.7 million tonnes purchased a year prior, at the subsidised price of EGP 420 per tonne.

The government said previously that it would procure local supplies this year at the subsidised price of around EGP 420 per ardeb (150 kg), depending on quality, reversing its decision to replace the crop subsidy with a land subsidy of EGP 1,300 per feddan (roughly one acre) of wheat grown.

The world's largest wheat importer has banned the trading of imported wheat in the domestic market without permission from the supply ministry during this year's harvest season; from April to July.