July 19, 2020

Egypt buys 3.5 million tonnes wheat on local buying season

Egypt's local wheat buying season had ended with a total of 3.5 million tonnes bought from farmers who were largely unaffected by COVID-19 disruptions, the government said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, exempted farmers from a nationwide nightly curfew imposed to curb the spread of the disease to allow them to harvest their crops uninterrupted.

The government was able to procure 300,000 tonnes more wheat than it did last year, the supply ministry said on Tuesday.

Egyptian President Abel Fattah al-Sisi had asked authorities in April to bolster the country's strategic reserves in the face of global supply concerns caused by coronavirus, prompting the General Authority of Supply Commodities (GASC) to tap the international market for wheat while the harvest was ongoing.

Egypt consumes around 20 million tonnes of wheat annually and usually imports around 12 million tonnes, according to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.