The Egyptian government has purchased 1.2 million tonnes of wheat from local farmers in this season since mid-April 2023, according to a recent report submitted to Minister of Supply Ali el-Moseilhi.
The wheat was sent to 420 silos nationwide, the report said, noting that this year’s crop is of superior quality.
General Farmers Syndicate chairman Hussein Abdul Rahman Abu Saddam said in a statement that the authorities concerned aim to buy 4 million tons of wheat from local farmers.
Harvesting will continue until end September and about half of the wheat fields have been harvested so far and 25 per cent threshed, Abu Saddam said.
The Ministry of Finance allocated last month LE45 billion to buy local wheat this year, with a LE19 billion increase compared to last year, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet said in a recent statement.
The government will be buying local wheat from the beginning of April to the mid-August, with an additional cost to increase the price of one ardabb (150 kilograms) by 74 per cent, from LE865 to LE1,500, Maeet said.
The increase in the wheat purchase price comes in accordance with the implementation of the presidential directives to support farmers and encourage them to expand the cultivation of strategic crops like wheat, in a way that contributes to achieving self-sufficiency.
