Egypt to secure ITFC $3 billion financing to cope with wheat price hikes

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) will provide Egypt with a $3 billion envelope to help it make its wheat purchases in the wake of growing grain prices, said Minister of Supply Ali Moselhy on Thursday.

In Egypt, the increase in wheat prices – due to the Russian war in Ukraine – poses many challenges in terms of food security as the grain is its main staple. While the Egyptian government is intervening in various ways domestically, it also seeks the help of its financial partners.

This amount brings to $6 billion the total commitment of the ITFC for Egypt since 2018.

Egypt, the world’s largest importer, announced that the increase in wheat prices may require the disbursement of an additional 12 to 15 billion Egyptian pounds to deploy in 2021/2022, subsidy programjme that benefits more than 60 million people. More globally, the North African country plans to spend $4.4 billion on wheat imports during the same season, as it has opted to diversify its sources, seeking India as alternative market and to increase supplies from local producers. Egypt consumes 20 million tons of wheat annually.