Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) aims to purchase 4-4.5 million tonnes of domestic wheat this year, GASC Vice Chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah told Reuters on Monday.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, annually fixes a local procurement price for Egyptian wheat that is above global prices in an attempt to encourage farmers to grow the crop.

Last year the high local price, over $150 above the global spot price for wheat at the time, led the government to procure 5.3 million tonnes of domestic grain, a jump from the 3.7 million the year before.

But those in the wheat industry have said that as much as 2 million tonnes of that may have actually been purchased from abroad and passed off as domestic by intermediaries looking to cash in on the high price the government pays for its crop.

Egypt begins its harvest season in mid-April and typically completes it in July.