CAIRO: Egypt’s strategic reserve of wheat is sufficient to last for the coming six months, the presidency said in a Monday statement following a meeting between President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy.
“For the first time, the state succeeded in decreasing the wheat imports from 6.4 million tons to 4.6 million tons after it became more dependent on the locally produced wheat which its production capacity had reached 5.3 million tons,” the statement said.
In April, Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, started implementing a new “smart card” system to distribute subsidized bread which meant farmers were less likely to hold on to their crop for personal consumption.
Subsidized bread was sold on a first-come, first-served basis while under the new smart card system for subsidized bread; families are issued plastic cards allowing them to buy five loaves per family member per day.
The increase in the amount of wheat purchased from Egyptian farmers is a result of attractive prices offered by the government, Hanafy told Reuters in May.
This year, Egypt is paying its farmers 420 Egyptian pounds ($55) per ardeb, which is equivalent to about 150 kg. A total of 10 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.3 billion) has been allocated for local wheat purchases.
Egypt subsidizes several commodities, including oil, electricity, and public transportation. The country has begun to lift some of the subsidies in economic reforms to reduce the large portion of its budget allocated to subsidies to a population of over 85 million. The subsidization policy has been in place since the regime of socialist President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 50’s.