Incentives to encourage farmers to supply local wheat will be of at least LE 60/ardeb: Presidency

CAIRO – 16 March 2022: Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said the incentives earlier announced by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to encourage farmers to supply local wheat will not be less than LE 60 per each ardeb (150 kilograms) of wheat.

Egypt has already raised the price of ardeb from LE 710 to nearly LE 810 last year to encourage farmers to supply local wheat.

As per the incentives and the last year increase in ardeb price, there is around LE 150 in the whole ardeb price, Radi said in remarks to Salat Al-Tahrir program on Sada Al-Balad.

“While a feddan produces around 15 ardebs, this means an increase of LE 2,000 per feddan for a farmer,” Radi said, adding that this constitutes a net of LE 1,800 after deducting the increase in the price of fertilizers.

On Monday, Ministers of Supply and Internal Trade, Finance and Agriculture issued a decree to start the season of supplying locally produced wheat for 2022 on April 1 instead of April 15.

The Ministry of Supply had prepared well for this season after increasing wheat storage capacities and capacities to 3.6 million tons, Ahmed Kamal, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Supply, said, adding that a large number of field silos would enter the season this year.

Egypt is the largest importers of wheat in the world, especially from Ukraine and Russia. Due to the military escalation in Ukraine by Russian troops, wheat supply to Egypt has been affected and caused an increase of the price of the unsubsidized bread by 25 piasters per one loaf.

Sisi instructed the government Tuesday to set a fixed price for the unsubsidized loaf of bread putting an end to its random increase.

The president urged the government to study the cost of production per loaf, and accordingly designate the selling price. That is in tandem with charging the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade with providing the necessary flour to bakeries to inhibit the fluctuation of the cost.

The president also stressed that supply police and inspectors must ensure that the decision is implemented by merchants, according to a statement by the presidency. 

The president's instructions came during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohamed Zaki, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali al-Moselhy, Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfiq, and Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel.