Egypt's Production of Rice, Wheat, Grains Soar

Egypt's production of rice, wheat, and grain rose in the year 2010/11 compared with the previous year, because of an increase in areas being cultivated, the state's statistics agency CAPMAS stated on Monday. CAPMAS reported that rice saw the biggest rise, at 31.2 per cent, reaching 5.6 million tonnes compared with 4.3 million tonnes in 2009/10. Earlier this month, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh announced the resumption of rice exports following a four-year ban, with a surplus of roughly one million tonnes. Wheat production is up from 7.1 million tonnes in 2009/10 to 8.3 million tonnes in 2010/11, soaring 16.7 per cent. Egypt is the biggest global importer of wheat, importing approximately half of the amount it consumes. The government has bought 2.6 million tonnes of wheat so far in the 2011/2012 season, up from 2.2 million tonnes at the same time last year. Egypt's production of grains also soared 12.2 per cent in 2010/11 from the year before, when 21.2 million tones were produced.