CAIRO: Following the recent crisis of wheat imports to Egypt, after the Russian Ban on wheat exports, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abaza stated that the Egyptian Government “targets achieving self-sufficiency of wheat during the next 10 years by rates between 75 percent to 80 percent compared to what has been achieved of self-sufficiency of 56 percent this year.” The Minister of Agriculture explained that Russia`s decision to ban wheat exports does not affect Egypt's needs for wheat, where the government has been “taking measures in collaboration between the ministries of agriculture, trade and social solidarity including the contracting of 250,000 tons of wheat from other countries.” In addition, he said the stock Egypt has – its domestic production – is estimated at 2.5 million tons of wheat sufficient for more than five months. This came during the signing ceremony of an agreement granting Afghanistan 150 tons of wheat seed produced in Egypt locally of class (Egypt 1) and (Egypt 2) which were produced locally and characterized by its resistance to drought and high productivity. Abaza added that agricultural research aimed at raising the yield per acre of wheat to 24 bushles instead of 18 per acre currently. He pointed out that the government aims to encourage farmers to “increase prices of the receipt of wheat and deliver to them various agricultural services in order to reach an area of 4 million acres of wheat of old and reclaimed lands in comparison to the existent area, and which is estimated at three million acres today.” Still, suspicion dominates the Egyptian street, toward this statement and the former ones, as shortage in flour exists in consumer cooperatives, and everyone is speculating, will wheat crisis affect the price of flour and other wheat derivatives? ** Assem Hendawi contributed to this report. BM