The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture has allocated between LE4 billion and LE5 billion to buy four million tons of wheat from Egyptian farmers this year, according to an announcement by Egyptian Agriculture Minister Ayman Abu Hadid. Wheat productivity this season reached 3.22 million feddans, and production on each feddan rose by two ardebs (one ardeb equals 5.62 US bushels) from last year. These figures suggest that wheat growers made significant profit this year, taking into account the price of one ardeb of wheat, which has been set by the government at LE335, LE70 higher than the price last year. In a press statement on Thursday, Abu Hadid said that the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC) was ready to receive any amount of wheat delivered by farmers and that these farmers would be paid in full without any deductions on account of any previous debts. He added that the current international price of one ardeb of wheat is no more than LE335 pounds. The minister called on farmers to supply the bank with the complete yield of their wheat crops. He went on to say that the ministry is willing to provide wheat growers with high quality seeds for next year's wheat cultivation at LE350 for one ardeb of seeds. Pointing out that wheat store houses are prone to infection with agricultural pests and mold, which reduces productivity to 7 ardebs per acre, he called on farmers not to store this year's wheat production for use as seeds. Translated from the Arabic Edition
