Egypt has additional stocks of wheat set aside for "times of crisis," a senior trade ministry official said Sunday. The official declined to divulge the size of those stocks, however, which he described as a "state secret." The government has not had to dip into these reserves within recent months, the same source pointed out, despite rising international wheat prices. The official went on to explain that, besides these additional stocks, Egypt's strategic wheat reserves had reached a total of three million tons--enough to cover domestic demand until next March. He also noted that the government had recently purchased 60,000 tons of Canadian wheat at US$275.50 per ton, and a further 180,000 tons of French wheat at US$285 per ton. All of this, he said, was expected to reach the local market in the first ten days of December. According to Food Supply Authority (FSA) Undersecretary Nomani Nasr Nomani, the government committee responsible for making international wheat purchases consists of representatives from the FSA, the ministries of finance and social solidarity, the Holding Company for Food Industries, and the State Council. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
