Egypt plans to raise its wheat procurement price for the next season, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, according to Reuters on 24 October 2026. Reports put the new Egypt wheat procurement price at EGP 2,650 per ardeb, up from EGP 2,500 this year.
The goal is simple: get more farmers to sell to the state, so Egypt buys less wheat abroad. Here is what the plan involves and what is still unconfirmed.
Key takeaways
- Madbouly said Egypt aims to raise the price it pays farmers for local wheat next season, as reported by Reuters on 24 October 2026.
- A Middle East Online report gives the figure as EGP 2,650 per ardeb, roughly 6% above the 2026 price of EGP 2,500.
- I found no cabinet decree confirming the number, so treat it as a stated plan, not a final price.
- The 2026 harvest delivered about 4.72 million tons to the state, short of the 5 million-ton target.
What exactly did Egypt announce?
Only the headline of the Reuters story was open to me. It says Egypt aims to raise the procurement price for next season, and that the prime minister said so. The EGP 2,650 figure comes from secondary reports of the same announcement, which tie it to a wider push to grow strategic crops.
An ardeb is a traditional Egyptian measure, about 150 kilograms of wheat. A 6% rise on EGP 2,500 works out to EGP 150 more per ardeb.
How does the new price compare with recent years?
| Season | Price per ardeb (EGP) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (grade 23.5) | 2,500 | Set in April 2026, up 6.4% on 2,350 |
| Next season | 2,650 | Announced plan, reported figure |
For 2026, lower grades were priced slightly below the top rate: EGP 2,450 for grade 23 and EGP 2,400 for grade 22.5, according to Zawya. The season ran from 15 April to 15 August, with payment promised within 48 hours of delivery.
Why does Egypt want farmers to sell more wheat locally?
Egypt is one of the world’s biggest wheat importers. It usually buys about 10 million tons a year from overseas, and the state takes around half of that for its subsidised bread programme, which supports roughly 70 million people, Reuters reported in its coverage of the 2026 harvest.
Every ton bought from a farmer is a ton Egypt does not have to pay for in dollars. That matters when the pound is under pressure and global shocks can move prices fast, as in the oil market swings tied to Iran.
Think of the procurement price as a bid. If the state offers less than the open market, farmers sell elsewhere. If it offers more, grain flows to government silos.
Did the 2026 price work?
Partly. Egypt procured 4.72 million tons from the 2026 harvest, up from just under 4 million tons in 2025. That is nearly 20% more, but still under the 5 million-ton target on the standard total. The supply ministry says durum and seed volumes push its total past 5 million.
Reports also describe farmers hit by fertiliser shortages, with cooperatives supplying only about half the required amount. A higher price helps income, but it does not fix input costs, and that may explain why the government is pairing price with area expansion. Officials want to lift cultivated land from about 10.5 million feddans to 12.5 million by 2030.
What does it mean for imports and bread?
Traders expect imports to ease to 12 million to 13 million tons in the 2026 to 2027 marketing year, S&P Global reported. Import estimates vary by source and definition, so treat any single number with care.
Subsidised bread now costs EGP 0.20 a loaf, after the first rise in decades in 2024. Officials are also weighing a switch toward cash support. My opinion: a better local price helps the import bill, but it only moves the needle if yields and input supply keep pace.
What happens next
Watch for a formal cabinet decision that fixes the price, the grade scale and the procurement window, which in 2026 opened on 15 April. Egypt has announced prices at different points in past years, from January in 2023 to April in 2026, so the timing is not fixed.
Also watch fertiliser supply and global wheat prices. If world prices stay low, the state price becomes more attractive to farmers and costs the budget more.
FAQ
How much is Egypt’s wheat procurement price now?
For the 2026 season it is EGP 2,500 per ardeb for grade 23.5 wheat, with lower grades paid slightly less.
Is the EGP 2,650 price final?
No. It is a reported plan. I found no decree confirming it, and sources differ on the season label.
Will this lower Egypt’s wheat imports?
That is the aim. Egypt has said it wants wheat self-sufficiency for subsidised bread by 2028, but it still imports around 10 million tons or more each year.
Next step: bookmark the Egyptian cabinet’s announcements and the Reuters story, and check back once the final price is published.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
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