File photo: Farmers harvest wheat on Qalyub farm in the El-Kalubia governorate, northeast of Cairo, Egypt May 1, 2016 Reuters
Egypt’s agriculture and land reclamation ministry announced the commencement of the wheat harvest season as of Saturday over a total arable area of 3.1 million feddans (roughly one acre), according to a statement emailed to Ahram Online by the ministry.
According to the ministry, the price of the strategic crop, to be delivered to the state’s General Authority of Supply Commodities, will be EGP 555 per ardeb (roughly 150 kg) for the lowest quality, while the higher quality will cost EGP 565 and EGP 575.
Agriculture minister Abdel-Moneim El-Banna said that his ministry, in coordination with the supply ministry, will work on facilitating the wheat supply to the government, setting a limit of 72 hours to pay the farmers their dues.
Supply minister Ali Moselhi said last month that Egypt is targeting between four to 4.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2017.
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