The Ministry of Social Solidarity has declared receiving 2.83 million tons of local wheat from farmers this season (one million tons more than last year). It also affirmed that the reserves of some commodities, such as rice, for supply-card holders will last for ten months. Dr. Ali El-Moselhi, Minister of Social Solidarity, told the press yesterday that the reserves of Egyptian and imported wheat amount to more than 4 million tons. He also pointed out that the ministry received 351,000 tons of imported wheat plus 344,000 tons thanks to new contracts, while 500,000 tons are due to be delivered to granaries at the end of this month. El-Moselhi said that the strategic reserve is enough to meet local demand for at least five months. As for corn, the minister affirmed that its reserve is some 66,000 tons and will last five months, too. The minister also affirmed that the fundamental and additional stocks of sugar to be provided to supply-card holders amount to 1,210,000 tons of sugar from the two wholesale companies and retail centers and it will last five months. He explained that the fundamental and additional cooking oil to be provided to supply-card holders and to the market will last for eight months and amount to 537,000 tons, in addition to 39,000 tons of sunflower oil and 50,000 tons of soy oil according to contracts. He affirmed that the reserves of rice for supply-card holders amount to an overall 764,000 tons and are enough for more than 10 months. He also pointed out that all supply commodities will be regularly provided to 63 million supply-card holders while work will go ahead to replace paper supply cards with electronic ones in order to provide the shares of rice that have not been supplied. At the same time, he said control will be tougher on grocers to guarantee that they provide this commodity to card-holders at its real prices. Meanwhile, most mills in the Eastern Nile Delta have ended their upgrade in the governorates of Dakahlia and Damietta. Such upgrade has been carried out in order to increase their productive capacity in case the liberalization policy of the 82% subsidized flour industry is applied. Exams have been carried out in the mills where the upgrade is over. These exams were carried out by several committees affiliated to the Ministry of Social Solidarity to make sure of the productive capacity of the mills and whether the new equipments are suitable to produce flour in line with specifications. An informed source at the mill sector said that most of the reports issued by the committees confirmed the success of the upgrade. The source also pointed out that the mills have indeed become ready to enter tenders on subsidized flour, both 82% flour to produce two-layered bread and 76% flour, which is used to produce another kind of bread. The source also said that another mill is being set up in the city of Gamasa with a productive capacity of 600 tons a day.
