Egypt says wheat reserves sufficient for 4.2 months

Reuters/Egyptian Presidency handout

Egypt’s strategic wheat reserves are sufficient for 4.2 months, oil for 5.3 months, and sugar for 5.4 months, said minister of supply and internal trade Ali Al-Moselhi.

He noted that about 100 tonnes of sugar had been produced from the cane crop so far and that preparations are under way to receive the beet crop in mid-March, the UAE’s state-owned Wam news agency reported.

The remarks came after the minister inspected the West Port Said Silos project, which is located on an area of 15,000 square metres and has a storage capacity of 100,000 tonnes.

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Al-Moselhi said Egypt imports six million tonnes of wheat annually through its ports, explaining that no silo has been built in the ports since 1984.

A cabinet statement said earlier this month that the country had planted 3 million fedan (3.1 million acres) worth of wheat since November 2023, an increase of almost half a million acres, Egypt Today reported.

In November 2023, the government approved the decision to raise the local wheat procurement price to EGP1,600 ($51.85) from EGP1,500.

The price increase was aimed to encourage Egyptian farmers and motivate them to grow and supply this crop in the upcoming harvest season.