Egypt raises local wheat procurement price more than 40% amid inflation

Egypt has set its wheat procurement price at 1,250 Egyptian pounds ($42.23) per ardeb (150 kilograms) for the 2023 local procurement season, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on state TV on Wednesday.

The new price is more than 40% higher than last season’s procurement price of 865-885 Egyptian pounds, depending on purity levels, which drew complaints from some farmers, and 25% above the initial price it set in August.

Egypt has been facing record-high inflation levels following currency devaluations.

The country aims to procure about 4 million tonnes of wheat in the coming season which begins in April, Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said this week.

Last year the government said it procured 4.2 million tonnes, 30% below its initial target of 6 million tonnes but surpassing 2021 levels.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Egypt, one of the world’s biggest wheat importers, has leaned on its domestic harvest in the face of rising international prices and disrupted Black Sea purchases.

It has since ramped up its wheat imports, and currently has strategic wheat reserves covering 4.5 months of consumption.

Egypt’s government provides heavily subsidised bread to more than 70 million of its 104 million citizens.

Its wheat subsidy bill has increased to 95 million Egyptian pounds in the current fiscal year, Madbouly added.

Plans to reform the subsidies were postponed as a foreign currency shortage and inflation were exacerbated by the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Tags: Egypt, wheat, inflation, procurement price