Egypt witnessed a significant increase in wheat imports during the first six months of 2024, recording a growth of 34%, with 7.5 million tons of wheat imported compared to 5.6 million tons during the same period last year.
This increase is the highest in the history of Egypt’s wheat imports, due to the increase in private sector activity in importing.
The private sector accounted for 50.5% of total wheat imports during this period, outperforming the government’s share represented by the General Authority for Supply Commodities, which imported 3.7 million tons.
This strong increase in the share of the private sector reflects a growth in competitiveness and efficiency in the Egyptian wheat market.
Russia continued to lead the list of the largest suppliers of wheat to Egypt, as Russian imports amounted to about 5.8 million tons, representing 77% of total imports, while Ukraine ranked second with a total of 1.6 million tons.
The continued growth in imports is attributed to the increase in population and high consumption rates in Egypt, as estimates indicate that the country consumes about 20.6 million tons of wheat annually.
New markets entered as suppliers to Egypt this year, such as France, Bulgaria, and Turkey, while dependence on Canadian wheat declined.
It is noteworthy that the current population of Egypt is 114,573,772, with an annual growth rate of 1.57%, and it represents 1.405% of the total world population.
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