The country also has strategic reserves of fresh meat and poultry for around a year, the minister added.

During the meeting, El-Sisi followed up on the developments of the current local wheat cultivation season 2022/2023, urging setting prices for wheat to ensure a profitable economic return for farmers and help boost wheat supplies.

The state has been keen to encourage farmers to increase the quantities of wheat supplied to the government amid a global disruption in supply chains due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Late in August, Egypt approved raising the guide price of local wheat procurement for the new harvest season by 13.6 percent to EGP 1,000 per ardeb (1 ardeb is equivalent to 150kg).

In the last local supply season, which extended from April to August, the local wheat procurement price totalled EGP 880 per ardeb on average, including additional incentives.

Over the 2022 wheat supply season, the country secured around 4.2 million tons, according to the Ministry of Supply, falling short of the target quantities of 6 million tons announced previously by officials.

The country consumes around 18 million tons of wheat annually, including imported wheat.

Egypt, which used to depend on Russia and Ukraine for 80 percent of its imported wheat, has worked on diversifying its wheat import sources to meet its citizens’ needs.