Egypt’s Cabinet raises initial wheat procurement price for 2023 season to LE 1,000

CAIRO – 1 September: The Egyptian Cabinet announced in a statement on Wednesday setting the country's initial wheat procurement price at LE 1,000 for the 2023 wheat harvest season.

The decision raises the wheat procurement price from LE 865-885 during the current wheat harvest season, which started in April.

In the statement, the Cabinet said the new initial price aims at encouraging farmers to cultivate wheat and supply the cultivated quantities to the state.

On Wednesday, Egyptian Minister of Supply Ali Moselhi said the country managed to procure 4.2 million tons of wheat during this season's local harvest season.

This comes while Egypt has targeted to collect between 5 to 5.5 million tons of local wheat from farmers during this wheat season.

Egypt, a top wheat importer requires about 18 million tons of wheat annually, which it imports from abroad and also collects from farmers.

The current Russia-Ukraine war has forced Egypt to find new sources for wheat imports given that the country used to get 80 percent of its imported wheat from both conflicting countries.

Moselhi stated early in August that the strategic reserve of wheat is sufficient for up to 7.3 months, adding that since the outbreak of the global crisis, around 1.8 million tons of wheat of various origins have been imported.