Egypt says sugar self-sufficiency reaches 89 pct, strategic reserves shoot up
Egypt has reached 89 percent self-sufficiency in sugar following increased planting of cane and beet and has strategic reserves to last until the next season, the supply ministry said on Thursday.
Egypt’s sugar beet season runs from February to June.
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The ministry also confirmed that imports of white and raw sugar had been possible since June after a rolling ban on imports expired. Egypt is seeking 200,000 tonnes of raw sugar in a tender.
A recent rise in international sugar prices had not yet affected local prices in Egypt, the ministry added.
Egypt’s Supply Minister Ali Moselhy looks on during a news conferenc about the launch of the Government’s local wheat harvest in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, Egypt. (File photo: Reuters)
Egypt has long pushed to expand production of commodities as it seeks to contain its import bill, and has sought to bolster strategic reserves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2019, an agriculture ministry official said Egypt was 80 percent self-sufficient in sugar.
Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said earlier this month that Egypt was producing 50 percent of its own wheat.
Read more: How Arabs can tackle food security
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