Egypt’s wheat imports drop by 700K tons: Minister

CAIRO – 20 June 2026: Egypt has achieved an unprecedented boom in wheat production, helping reduce imports to about 12.5 million tons this year, down from 13.2 million tons last year, said Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk in a statement on Saturday.

The Minister said domestic production rose to over 10 million tons this year, a 6.5% increase over the previous year. He added that the government's supply system has recorded its highest rates on record, nearing its target of 5 million tons by the end of the season, cultivated across 3.76 million acres- a record increase of up to 600,000 acres compared to the previous season.

Farouk said the state has focused on boosting productivity and activating the contract farming system, which protects farmers from market fluctuations by setting a guaranteed price before planting and linking farmers directly to factories and companies without intermediaries, while providing approved seeds and technical support through extension and research programs.

He added that average productivity per acre has improved noticeably, reaching 18 to 20 ardabs overall (one ardab of wheat equals 150 kilograms), while farms using advanced agricultural technologies, recommendations, and good practices have reached 28 ardabs per acre- placing Egypt among the world's leaders in wheat production efficiency.

Farouk noted that this boom stems from a rewarding supply price of 2,500 EGP per ardab, announced under the guidance of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as an incentive for farmers, alongside the development and distribution of high-yielding, climate-tolerant varieties through research programs led by the Agricultural Research Center. Through these programs, about 60 new varieties and hybrids have been developed over the past three years alone across strategic crops including wheat, corn, rice, oil crops, and fodder.