Wheat Surplus and bread subsidy

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TO GO WITH AFP WORLD INFLATION SERIES: An Egyptian baker prepares "baladi" bread in a local bakery in the Nile Delta city of Mahala, 140 kms north of Cairo, on April 6, 2008. Egypt is in the grip of a serious bread crisis brought on by a combination of the rising cost of wheat on world markets and sky-rocketing inflation. The price of bread has increased fivefold in private bakeries, creating panic in state-run bakeries that the staple may run out. Scuffles in bread queues are a daily occurrence, turning in recent weeks into violent clashes, leaving at least seven people dead, according to police. AFP PHOTO/CRIS BOURONCLE (Photo credit should read CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images)
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by Ahmed Fouda


I wish to stop at an announcement made by the Minister of  Supply , where he points out that the strategic reserves of local , and imported wheat to make subsidized bread is above the safety levels.

Thus, why are we eager to conclude further agreements to purchase wheat from Ukraine, and Russia, ( 175000 tons recently).

The minister points out that these international bids which are concluded by the Commodity Sector to purchase imported wheat, come within the framework of the State’s plan to make sure that Egypt’s needs of wheat are within safety levels.

I would like to tell his Excellency, Egypt’s Minister of Supply that President Sisi and the Egyptian people managed to achieve the Suez Canal Project in one year, so how can we stand helpless in front of the problem of importing wheat worth millions, especially that we are an agriculture country, and do have ahead of us plans to cultivate millions of feddans. Further, we do have other countries renting in Toshka area, thousands of feddans that could cover Egypt and Arab countries’ needs.

In my opinion, we must examine carefully all wheat tenders, especially that we are one of the major agricultural countries. The current circumstances require intervention of President Sisi, who initiated the New Suez Canal project, and made sure its execution is within a specific time framework, again we seek his intervention, and this time for another  serious project that is urgently needed.  If we can ever solve the wheat problem by cultivating our own wheat, this will be one of the most revolutionary national projects that are badly needed, especially that wheat is definitely related to our national security.

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