Report: Egypt is the World’s #1 Consumer of Wheat

Report: Egypt is the World’s #1 Consumer of Wheat

The International Grains Council has ranked Egypt number five on the list of the top 18 countries importing grain worldwide.Egyptians eat about 220 million loaves of bread on a daily basis, which makes them the number one consumer of flour with an average annual consumption of 180 kg per person; the average consumption globally is only about 90 kg. Egypt annually consumes an amount of wheat equivalent to the consumption of 37 European countries.

The report of by council anticipated an increase in Egypt’s production of grain from 15.2 million tons last year to 15.5 million tons in 2010, which will mean a decline in importing grain from 15 million tons to 13 million in 2010. The report noted that wheat and corn would be the most likely imports to decline as a result of the expected increase in the production of local of crops.

The report also expects an increase in domestic wheat production of about 300 thousand tons in 2010 for a total production of 8.2 million tons.

The report pointed to a possible decline in Egypt’s imports of wheat from 9.9 million tons last year to about 8.2 million tons in 2010, and a drop in imports of corn from 5.2 million tons to 4.7 million.

Alaa’ Hasab Allahm, a researcher and member of the Scientific Association for Food Industries, said that Egypt consumes about 220 million subsidized loaves of bread per day or about 3 loaves per citizen. The country also consumes around 14 million tonnes of wheat and bread subsidies which cost LE 22 billion annually