by PressEgyptian wheat market to increase production this year
Egyptian wheat market: forecast for the current marketing year
Experts have made a situation forecast for the segment of cereals. According to it, the Egyptian wheat market in the 2021-2022 marketing year should reach a mark of 9 million tons. One of the factors that contributes to this growth is the increase in the area for the crop. In the previous period, the area under the cultivation of grain was 1.39 million hectares, now it has been expanded to 1.4 million hectares.
As for the volume of wheat imports this year, it is estimated at 13.2 million tons, this figure is almost 1.5% higher than previously observed. According to 2020-2021 m.y., the largest suppliers of grain to the country were Russia, which exported about 7.6 million tons, and Ukraine with 2 million tons. They are followed by the European Union and Australia. It should be noted that Egypt has been actively purchasing Russian and Ukrainian grain for a long time, with Russia being the largest importer. Last year the country increased the supply of Russian wheat by 1.5 times. In addition, purchases of Ukrainian crops are also increasing.
Domestic consumption in Egypt in the current period will amount to 21.3 million tons. This figure is 2.4% more than in 2020-2021. Experts explain the growth of demand by the increase of food consumption, which is made on the basis of wheat, as well as seeds. Grain is also in demand for industrial use.
In Egypt, there are 410 flour milling enterprises of state and private ownership. The volume of investment in this sector is 1.5 billion dollars.
According to FAS USDA, the production volume in the current marketing year in the country will remain almost unchanged — in the range of 6.4 million tons. Corn will be planted on 800 thousand hectares, as it will be in 2020-2021. At the same time the volume of corn consumption should grow to almost 17 million tons, which is 1.2% higher than in the previous period. Imports will remain unchanged at 10.3 million tons.
According to USDA’s FAS figures, yellow corn cultivation in Egypt accounts for less than 35% of total consumption of the crop as animal feed. Imports make up the rest.
The country’s grain market continues to grow and remain stable, which is not unimportant after surviving the pandemic and the price spike that triggered demand from China. The weather is also favorable for the good harvest in Egypt so far.