Egypt is food secure

“Egypt’s reserves of staple food commodities are sufficient and secure,” the cabinet said this week, reassuring the public about the country’s food security amid the Covid-19 crisis and with the approach of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

However, some observers warned that there could be increases in food prices. According to Gamal Siyam, a professor of agricultural economics in Cairo, there could be rises in food prices due to shipping difficulties and increases in insurance costs on cargoes. He cited the partial halt in exports from Brazil as a result of work stoppages in the country’s ports as an example.

Meanwhile, Reuters said this week that “traders said on Sunday the country’s state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), could ask suppliers to offer prices on a cost and freight (C&F) basis instead of free-on-board (FOB),” in a report on Egyptian market sentiment.