Egypt announces a target of 5 million tons of local wheat to achieve self-sufficiency.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

**Arab Sea - Agencies:** The Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade announced on Sunday that the government aims to supply 5 million tons of local wheat during the upcoming harvest season, in a step aimed at enhancing self-sufficiency and reducing dependence on foreign imports. The ministry explained in an official statement that this direction comes in implementation of the directives of the political leadership to enhance national food security, noting that the past local supply season witnessed an increase of 17%, as the total received from farmers amounted to more than 4 million tons. The Minister of Supply, Dr. Sherif Farouk, said that the decline in wheat imports this year is a positive indicator of the increasing reliance on local production, stressing that the strategic reserve of basic commodities in Egypt is "safe and reassuring," and records rates exceeding those in the same period last year. It is worth mentioning that the local harvest season in Egypt extends from mid-April to mid-August of each year, and the country is one of the largest wheat importers in the world, according to "Reuters."