Rice reserves sufficient for 16 months, Egypt’s official says

Egypt’s strategic rice reserves is sufficient for upcoming 16 months, Head of the Rice Division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), Ragab Shehata stated Wednesday.

Anadolu Agency quoted Shehata yesterday saying that the rice reserves were accompanied by the continuous validity of the government decision that bans rice exportation outside Egypt.

He pointed out that there is no shortage in rice supply, adding that the Egyptian market’s rice prices are stable at 5 Egyptian pounds per kilo ($ 0.3).

During the past two months, the Egyptian market was hit by a severe scarcity in sugar supply, which is considered as one of the key strategic goods. The sugar crisis has led to an increase in the price per kilogram by 100 per cent, bringing the price to 12 Egyptian pounds per kilo ($ 0.7), while it amounted to higher in other areas.

Shehata noted that Egypt’s annual consumption of rice amounts to 3.5 million tons, while the annual production of white rice amounts to 4.5 million tons per year, which entails a market surplus.

Earlier this year, Egypt has decided to limit the cultivated land of the rice crop in 2017 by about 34.5 per cent. Egypt’s rice cultivation season begins early May and lasts until end of August of the same year.

Last August, the Egyptian government decided to halt exporting of all types of rice to be able to meet the domestic market’s needs; this has contributed to maintaining price stability.

Egypt’s Central Bank decided last week to liberalise the exchange rate for the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies, bringing the dollar’s exchange rate to 18 Egyptian pounds in the official market yesterday, compared to about 8.78 Egyptian pounds before the floatation decision has been activated. This step has had a dramatic impact on the prices of the basic goods and services.

Source: Middle East Monitor