Egypt sets buying price for local wheat in line with international prices

Egypt set the buying price for its local wheat crop at 570 to 600 Egyptian pounds ($32-$34) per ardeb (150 kilograms), the ministry of supply said on Wednesday. Egypt, the world's largest importer of wheat, harvests its own crop from April through July and has said it is looking to buy over 4 million tonnes from its farmers.
Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, Supply Minister Ali Meselhy said the local purchase price was in line with international prices Egypt has paid for imported wheat over the past year, continuing a policy the government imposed last year which scrapped a subsidy that paid farmers an above-market rate. In recent years a higher subsidised local procurement price led traders to smuggle cheaper foreign wheat from abroad and sell it to the government as Egyptian-grown in order to cash in on the higher price.
The lowest price at an international purchase tender Egypt held last month was $217 per tonne for Russian wheat, whereas farmers according to this year's pricing will receive about $215-$225 per tonne for their crop.