April 3, 2013

Egypt to see rising output and marketing of wheat in 2013

Egypt's Ministry of Supply anticipates a rise of 800,000 tonnes for the marketing of local wheat in 2013, which may increase total output to 4.5 million tonnes, said the deputy head of the General Authority for Supply Commodities, Mamdouh Abdel Fattah.

This increase will lower the country's wheat imports which will reduce the burden on the general budget, he added.

The Ministry of Agriculture expects the local production of wheat to reach 9.47 million tonnes during harvest season, Fattah noted.

The global market is closely linked to the effectiveness of the Egyptian market, said Nomani Nasr Nomani, advisor to the minister of supply.

An increase in wheat demand from Egypt has shifted global prices. Therefore, prices are expected to decrease towards the beginning of 2014, Nomani explained.

The Ministry of Supply aims to encourage farmers to grow wheat through a fair pricing policy which ensures an adequate marginal profit in order to reach wheat self-sufficiency.

Earlier, the cabinet announced that it had allocated US$1.6 billion to buy wheat from farmers this year. Egypt is the biggest wheat importer in the world.