Egypt – In a strategic shift, Egypt has revised its wheat self-sufficiency target for the current fiscal year despite plans to expand its agricultural land area, according to a cabinet report released.
Although the new self-sufficiency target of 51% for the fiscal year ending June 2025 is slightly higher than the previous year, it falls short of the previously announced goal of 65% for 2025.
In May 2024, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated that Egypt does not need to increase its wheat cultivation.
Instead, he suggested using farmland to grow other export crops and using the export proceeds to import wheat. This approach aligns with the government’s broader strategy to diversify its agricultural exports.
Currently, local wheat production meets 49% of Egypt’s demand, up from 45% in 2020. The government procures wheat both internationally and locally to provide subsidized bread to tens of millions of Egyptians.
On a different occasion, however, Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, revealed that the Egyptian government had announced a significant reduction in its wheat import target for the current year. The government aims to cut imports by 17 percent to a new target of 5 million tons from the previous import goal of 6 million tons.
Announcing the initiative, President El-Sisi emphasized that the land reclamation program targets a total of approximately 3.5 million feddans, a substantial expansion equivalent to nearly one-third of Egypt’s existing agricultural land.
The program includes major projects such as the New Delta (2.2 million feddans), Toshka (1.5 million feddans), and Middle Sinai (460,000 feddans), which have remained unimplemented for the past 40 years.
This follows a notable increase in wheat imports in 2023, with Egypt bringing in a total of 11 million tons, a significant rise from 9.6 million tons in 2022.
Egypt’s economy has been grappling with a hard currency shortage, which has eased following significant international investments.
In February, the United Arab Emirates signed a US$35 billion deal for the right to develop a stretch of Mediterranean coastline and other projects. Additionally, Egypt secured an expanded US$8 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and other international financiers.
The cabinet report also outlines Egypt’s long-term agricultural goals. By 2030, the country aims to increase local wheat production to meet 56% of demand, leveraging a total farmland area of 12 million feddans (12.5 million acres).
Concurrently, the government plans to boost corn self-sufficiency from 46% to 67% by 2030.
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