Egypt procures 3.75 million tonnes of wheat for this harvest season: minister

Egypt has procured 3.75 million tonnes of wheat from local farmers during its local harvest season in mid-April, Supply Minister Ali Moselhy announced Monday.

The world’s top importer of grain has been implementing policies to limit the use of private-sector silos and increase its own capacity to curb smuggling and fraud in the local market.

Farmers were paid prices ranging between 555 and 575 Egyptian pounds ($30.8-$31.9) per ardeb (roughly 150 kg) of wheat for the highest quality, Moselhy added.

Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, consumes 9.5 million tonnes of wheat to make its subsidised bread – 4 million tonnes from the local harvest and 5.5 million tonnes from imported wheat. The local harvest runs through July.