Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media platform: The Degel HaTorah party, which has four members in the Knesset, announces its withdrawal from Netanyahu's cabinet.
Local Syrian sources: The raids targeted the road between the village of Al-Mazra'a and the city of Sweida, where forces and factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense are advancing.
Local Syrian sources: New raids carried out by Israeli warplanes targeted vehicles and gatherings of military factions affiliated with the new Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Local Syrian sources: Israeli raids target, for the third time, gatherings of Syrian Defense Forces military factions in the southern countryside of Sweida.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza Strip hospitals received 120 martyrs and 557 wounded in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis

Egypt facing issue of food security in light of Ukraine crisis

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 20 Mar 2022 16:15
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Egyptian wheat supplies have been affected by the Ukraine crisis, and they could bring about an issue of food security into the country that was already struggling economically.

  • x
  • A man harvests wheat on his farm in Qalubiyah, North Cairo
    A man harvests wheat on his farm in Qalubiyah, North Cairo

The Egyptian wheat market is struggling in the face of the Ukraine crisis, with the prices of wheat in the world's biggest importer rising after it tried to boost local production before realizing that its supplies could not meet public demand.

The repercussions of the crisis have extended to West Asia and North Africa, with the region importing much of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia. Egypt has started to feel the impact of the crisis, but it is not the first one, since Lebanon was the first to feel the heat of the issue, with Moscow and Kiev making up 65% of the country's wheat supplies.

Exponentially rising prices

With the Ukraine crisis closing in on a month since it started, bread prices have up, currently standing at 1.50 Egyptian pounds per loaf, as costs for wheat products have been skyrocketing, affected by the crisis in Europe and supply shortages. Experts are even warning that another increase was just around the corner.

A third of the Egyptian population lives below the poverty line, meaning that price hikes on a good as essential as bread would have grave repercussions on the country's working class. The International Monetary Fund had already advised Cairo to focus on its food security issues exacerbated by the fighting in Ukraine and the West's sanctions on Russia.

"We are importing some 80 percent of our wheat from Russia and Ukraine. The hostilities have already caused prices to spiral, and this means that the government will need to fork out an additional $9.5 billion for the same amount of wheat this fiscal year," a source within the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Trade told Sputnik.

Related News

Bolton dismisses Trump’s Nobel hopes over Ukraine policy shift

US pressure on Lebanon grows over Resistance disarmament plan

See more: The global wheat supply crisis

 

The Egyptian government might not be able to afford these additional costs, for the country has long been struggling to stabilize its economy, heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic due to its reliance on the tourism sector.

The Ukraine crisis also exacerbated the Egyptian issue of lack of tourism, disrupting the industry and prompting Cairo to want to put the situation under control.

IMF loan for more supplies

Cairo has reportedly been holding talks with the IMF to negotiate a loan to the struggling country, but even if the funds were to make it to Egypt, the disruption of wheat supplies still constitutes a serious issue for the country.

Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine has paralyzed Ukraine's ports, and Russia's wheat has also been struggling to make it into Egypt due to the heavy sanctions imposed on the country, prompting Cairo to focus on producing local wheat.

Not only did the government decide to increase national production, but it also banned the export of wheat-related products for the next three months.

Not enough wheat for the populace

Cairo is contemplating purchasing some six million metric tonnes (MMT) of Egyptian produce and expanding its storage areas to accommodate such vast supplies, though these figures are not nearly sufficient for Egypt's 100+ million people.

Official estimates suggest that the Egyptian people consume around 21 MMT of wheat per year, meaning that the issue would not be resolved by such an acquisition.

Russia's special military operation took place for several reasons, including NATO's eastward expansion. Other reasons were the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.

Following the operation, the US and its allies responded by rolling out comprehensive sanctions, including restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.

  • United States
  • Ukraine crisis
  • Egypt
  • Russia
  • Lebanon
  • Wheat
  • Ukraine
  • Russian wheat
  • Cairo
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS