Ahmed Aboulenein | CAIRO

Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, has procured 2.33 tonnes of wheat from local farmers since its harvest began in mid-April, the supply ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The ministry said it would provide a premium to farmers of 15 Egyptian pounds ($0.83) per tonne for wheat stored and transported in jute bags and 10 pounds per tonne for wheat stored in silos located far from production areas with over 50 percent empty storage capacity.

Egypt consumes 9.5 million tonnes of wheat to make its subsidised bread – 4 million tonnes from the local harvest and 5.5 million tonnes from imported wheat.

The local harvest runs through July but the supply ministry has said it plans to continue making international purchases this year to boost the country’s strategic reserves.

($1 = 18.1000 Egyptian pounds)

(Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Tom Finn and Mark Potter)