ASWAN, Upper Egypt – Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhi said on Thursday that the state’s strategy aims to secure food commodities with reserves enough for at least six months.
He made the remarks on Thursday during a ceremony marking the beginning of the wheat harvest season in Toshka in the Upper Egypt governorate of Aswan.
He highlighted the importance of the silos project.
He expounded that the three-pronged state strategy is based on political leadership directives to ensure food commodities reserves for about six months and upgrading efficiency of mechanism for distributing commodities nationwide.
Within this context, 40,000 commodities outlets have been opened nationwide, he expounded .
He said the political leadership directed to secure needed funds for these commodities, he said, noting that dlrs 1.8 billion were allocated by the end of 2016 for increasing strategic reserves of different commodities, which, he added boosted Egypt’s capability of hedging against external shocks during Covid-19 pandemic or inflation wave after it, in addition to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Shifting to wheat stockpile, Moselhi said the country has 2.6 million tonnes of imported wheat and seeks to provide local wheat at 5.5 -6 million tons within a period of nearly seven months.
He asserted the country has a strategic stockpile that is sufficient until late January next year as the strategic reserve of wheat is enough for more than six months to nine months.
Wheat is important for serving 71 million citizens to provide 250 to 270 million loaves of bread per day.
Supply minister Ali Moselhi said all basic goods are available in local markets in Egypt.
He said in remarks during the inauguration of wheat harvest season in Toshka region in south of the valley, with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi attending Thursday morning that sugar production is increasing and the country has now self-sufficiency with 90%, compared to 57% in 2017.
By 2023, Egypt will have a blanket self-sufficiency of sugar, according to him.
Sugar beet plant can be used in cases of any shortages of sugarcane crop, he said, adding Egypt imported 200,000 tons of crude raw sugar this year.
Shifting to rice commodity, the minister said Egypt has self-sufficiency of rice and its strategic reserve is sufficient for the coming six months, adding that the next rice harvest season will start in September.
Moselhi said he is facing a largest challenge of providing oil.
The country is depending on importing crude oil and it seeks to import seeds and manufacture them in Egypt, he said, adding the country has achieved local production of imported seed with 42%.
The strategic reserve is enough for five months, according to Moselhi.
Supply minister Ali Moselhi said there is a gap between consumption and local production of meat, estimated at 40%.
The country seeks to bridge this gap by importing frozen meat from Brazil and supporting the Egyptian-Sudanese company for providing fresh meat.
Meat reserve is sufficient for 16 months, added Moselhi in remarks to mark the start of wheat harvest season in Toshka region in south of the valley Thursday morning, with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi attending.
Egypt has self-sufficiency of poultry, the minister said, adding any shortages in production especially in winter can be dealt with by importing frozen poultry to control markets.
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