Egypt’s local wheat buying surges in first two weeks of harvest

Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, has so far bought 1.4 million tonnes of the grain from farmers in its harvest, procuring more than a third of its target in the first two weeks. The government is looking to buy about 4 million tonnes of wheat from farmers this harvest, which ends in July. Egypt expects to buy an additional 7 million tonnes of the grain from abroad during the 2018-19 financial year that begins in July. It uses the wheat to supply a sprawling bread subsidy system relied on by tens of millions of people.