The government said last year it would buy wheat from local farmers at global prices this season, which began on April 15 and ends on July 15.

Egypt set its local wheat buying price at 570-600 Egyptian pounds ($32-$34) per ardeb (150 kilograms) last week, tying it to international prices but angering farmers who warned it could push them to grow other more profitable crops next season.

Egypt is planning to import 7 million tonnes of the grain in the 2018-2019 financial year and hopes to pay an average price of $220 a tonne cost and freight for the wheat, according to a budget proposal document seen by Reuters this month.