Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, expects to grow 3 million acres of wheat in the 2011/12 season, the chairman of the country's National Seed Council said on Wednesday. The planting area will be "around 3 million acres, plus or minus ... nearly like last year's area," Fawzi Mahrous told reporters on the sidelines of a Russian grain conference in Egypt.
Egypt raised the price it will pay local farmers for their wheat next season to 380 Egyptian pounds ($63.60) per ardeb (140 kg) from 350 pounds during the last season to give them an incentive. "We are trying to increase the area, but it is not that easy as the other areas are planted with other crops," Mahrous said. Egypt consumes around 14 million tonnes of wheat annually and imports around half of that amount.
Local procurement increased in 2011 to 2.6 million tonnes from 2.1 million tonnes a year earlier due to better prices. Egypt spent 33 billion Egyptian pounds on food subsidies in the fiscal year which ended June 30, including wheat, oil, sugar and rice. State finances have come under pressure from a sharp drop in economic growth after a popular uprising unseated the country's president in February. Egyptian wheat is planted in October and November and harvested in April and May.
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