Egypt will raise the price at which it buys Egyptian wheat from farmers to 270 Egyptian pounds ($49.50) per ardeb (150 kg), a ministry of agriculture adviser said on Sunday. "The decision was announced to parliament by the Agriculture Minister," Saad Nassar told Reuters. The price was set at 240 pounds per ardeb last year.
The agriculture minister was quoted by state news agency MENA as saying that wheat would only be bought from farmers who have contracts with the ministry. "We will not buy from any trader, broker or non-Egyptian," Amin Abaza said. The local purchase price of cotton would be determined before the end of March when the cotton-growing season starts, the agency also quoted Abaza as saying.
Egypt, the world's top wheat importer, bought around 3.1 million tonnes of domestic wheat in 2009. The Finance Ministry had allocated 5 billion pounds for local wheat purchases last season. The most populous Arab country consumes around 14 million tonnes of wheat annually. It relies on foreign supplies for about half of its needs. Egypt has an extensive bread subsidy programme on which the poor depend.