IN SHORT: Egypt to grow three million acres of wheat in 2011-12

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.