The Social Solidarity Ministry is thinking about abolishing the practice of mixing corn with flour to produce "baladi" bread, a mainstay of subsidized foodstuffs in Egypt. Sources say the proposed move aims to both improve the quality of local bread and extend its shelf life.
If taken, the decision would be implemented gradually, sources say, in order to allow farmers that have already mixed their crop to sell it on the local market. Because the government has not yet announced official purchase prices for the crop, however, farmers are expected to sell the bulk of their corn as animal feed with a view to cutting losses.
According to grain farmer Mohamed Abdel Moneim, the decision would prompt farmers to grow other, more water-intensive crops, such as rice. "This would lead to water shortages," said Abdel Moneim, noting that total corn cultivation fell from 1.7 million acres in 2008 to a mere 1 million acres this year.
One source at a public-sector flour mill explained that farmers generally do not deliver their corn directly to the mills. "They deliver it to the ministry, which in turn sends it to us," he said.
The ministry first announced the decision three years ago, but delayed carrying it out after farmers strenuously objected.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
