The government meanwhile approved a plan to reduce wheat imports by achieving a 10-percent increase in production, rationalizing local consumption of wheat and decreasing losses. The plan could see the government save around LE4 billion within the next season.
According to Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ayman Farid Abu Hadid, experimental plantations will be developed until they reach 5,000 nationwide.
The plan, according to the minister, also includes reducing losses of wheat and other crops to cover local needs and decreasing imports to save foreign currency. It proposes achieving other plans to enhance crops that Egypt exports like potatoes and citrus fruits to European Union and Gulf countries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm