France second largest country exporting wheat to Egypt

Baréty hailed Egyptian-French bonds in all fields, which were manifested in French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Egypt in 2022.

In November 2022, Macron participated in the UN climate change conference COP27 in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh, where he met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the conference.

The ambassador also lauded the COP27 as successful.

Macron also visited Sharm El-Sheikh on 31 December 2022 to inspect French troops on Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the ambassador said.

Egypt, the world's top wheat importer, is seeking new international sources of wheat since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war. It is also working to increase its homegrown production.

Before the onset of the European conflict, Egypt used to rely on Russia and Ukraine for 80 percent of its imported wheat.

The country relies heavily on wheat for making bread, a main staple of the Egyptian diet.

Egyptians consume almost 100 billion loaves of bread annually, made with around 18 million tons of wheat, according to government officials.

Trade Minister Ali Moselhi told Reuters that Egypt needs to import five million tons of wheat for the fiscal year 2022/23.