Egypt's government will buy the local wheat crop at global prices next season, Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after the country's supply minister said in November that the government would buy local wheat next season at a set price of 450 Egyptian pounds per ardeb (150 kg). Egypt generally sets a higher price than international markets to buy its local wheat as a way of encouraging farmers to grow the grain.
High prices have for years encouraged local operators to mix cheaper imported wheat into subsidized local stocks.
The new policy will calculate the price of wheat according to the values at which state purchasing agency Gasc purchased imported wheat, the minister said.
Source: Reuters
