Egypt’s wheat is chiefly used to make the flatbreads provided for about 60 million citizens who are entitled to subsidised food.
Umm Abdo prepares bread for the family in her home on the west bank of the Nile, by Egypt's southern city of Aswan. All photos: AFP
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted wheat imports to many countries, fuelling fears of higher prices and shortages.
With global supply chains already under strain due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a wheat-buying frenzy in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – all of which depend heavily on imported wheat to feed their populations – lays bare the magnitude of the challenge governments face amid sharp rises in food prices.
The crisis was highlighted by the UN food agency, which this week predicted that poorer countries in northern Africa, Asia and the Middle East that depend heavily on wheat imports risk suffering significant food insecurity because of the war in Ukraine.
Of the five nations in northern Africa, Egypt’s wheat predicament is perhaps the gravest.
The world’s largest wheat importer with a population of 102 million, Egypt relies on Russia and Ukraine for 80 per cent of its supply.
Egypt’s wheat is chiefly used to make the flatbreads provided for about 60 million citizens who are entitled to subsidised food.
Umm Abdo prepares bread for the family in her home on the west bank of the Nile, by Egypt's southern city of Aswan. All photos: AFP
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted wheat imports to many countries, fuelling fears of higher prices and shortages.
With global supply chains already under strain due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a wheat-buying frenzy in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – all of which depend heavily on imported wheat to feed their populations – lays bare the magnitude of the challenge governments face amid sharp rises in food prices.
The crisis was highlighted by the UN food agency, which this week predicted that poorer countries in northern Africa, Asia and the Middle East that depend heavily on wheat imports risk suffering significant food insecurity because of the war in Ukraine.
Of the five nations in northern Africa, Egypt’s wheat predicament is perhaps the gravest.
The world’s largest wheat importer with a population of 102 million, Egypt relies on Russia and Ukraine for 80 per cent of its supply.
Egypt’s wheat is chiefly used to make the flatbreads provided for about 60 million citizens who are entitled to subsidised food.
