Egypt to increase strategic staple reserves to 6 months

Egypt will aim to boost it strategic reserves of staple commodities to six months to ensure supply during the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

"Egypt has enough reserves of staple commodities sufficient for around three months, some good for up to 5 or 6 months. We are working now on increasing the reserves of all of the staples to 6 months," Madbouly said in a televised address. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday encouraged authorities to boost the country's reserves of strategic commodities amidst rising global fears for food supplies due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The directions to boost reserves have been given and the measures [to implement] that are being taken," Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said in a recorded message on Thursday. He said that current stocks of items such as rice, sugar and pasta were sufficient for at least four months.

The country is expecting the harvest season of its local crop to begin by mid-April and the government has said it aims to purchase around 3.6 million tonnes of local wheat. State grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC,) issued an international wheat tender on Wednesday and promptly cancelled it without providing a reason.