The Egyptian Government has asked a monetary help of USD 500 Million from the World Bank to take care of its urgent need for Wheat. With this, the nation hopes to finance the ‘Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Program’ initiated by the World Bank, which will manage the country’s current needs regarding imports of wheat after the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Ukraine-Russia war has resulted in skyrocketing prices of wheat in the global market because both the countries are major exporters of the food grain, Al-Monitor reported.
Egypt, which is the largest importer of Wheat in the world has been grossly affected by the developments in Ukraine following the Russian invasion that started in February 2022. While the country imports over 62% of its total annual wheat needs, 85% of it are taken care of by Russia and Ukraine combined. The Programme document between the World Bank and Egypt recorded that the Ukraine war has triggered major risks to global food and nutrition security, ‘including a pronounced spike in the prices of key food staples and skyrocketing prices of fuel and fertilizers.
Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation has entered into a deal with the World Bank which has seen an increase in the demand from many countries in the world to get loans approved following the unstable geopolitical advances. Dr Merza Hasan, Executive director of the World Bank told Egyptian daily Akhbar el-Yom recently that the nation will soon obtain approval for the loan that is being negotiated with the World Bank.
Global supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the Russia-Ukraine war largely affected Egypt’s food import bills. Rising fuel prices and import duties have added to the country’s burden of importing wheat in the context of global inflation. While Egypt’s position in the global food security index has a possibility of dropping down, its population largely depends on food upon the Food Subsidy System run by the Government of Egypt.
Egypt to buy Indian wheat
Egypt has signed an agreement with India to purchase wheat. Speaking to WION recently, Egypt’s ambassador to India Wael Hamed had stated that Egypt will stand by its deals after reports surfaced that the country is refusing to accept a consignment over quarantine concerns. The country has a deal to buy half a million tonnes of wheat from India. Earlier a shipment of 60,000 tonnes of wheat was given the go-ahead by Indian authorities.
In the last week of May, India imposed a ban on its wheat exports following a devastating heat wave that caused ruptures in the wheat harvests of the country. However, India committed to providing Wheat to its traditional buyers and signing bilateral contracts with countries in dire need of grains.
Recently, Egypt’s Supply Minister, Aly El-Moselhy met with the Indian ambassador to Egypt in Cairo to discuss a potential swap agreement to acquire 5 lakh tons of wheat through various shipments.