Egypt’s domestic wheat purchases hit 4.8 mln tonnes

Egypt’s government has bought 4.8 million tonnes of domestic wheat since the start of the season on April 15, the agriculture ministry stated Friday.

The government had originally set a target of 4 million tonnes but said that, after reaching that volume, it would continue to buy from local farmers.

The supply ministry has said that procurement is likely to end in mid-June.

Egypt is paying farmers a fixed price of 420 Egyptian pounds ($47.30) per ardeb (150 kg) of wheat this year.

Egypt’s wheat harvest runs from April to July.

In 2015 the government said it procured a record 5.3 million tonnes of wheat from domestic farmers, up from 3.7 million tonnes the previous year.

Source: Reuters