The government of Egypt has decided to buy wheat from France and Russia at an average price of $273.94 per tonne, country’s General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) stated.
The country has signed contracts to import 240,000t of French wheat and 60,000t of Russian wheat, Ahram Online reported.
An equal amount of French wheat was bought from companies including Granit, Glencore, Lecureur and Cargill while the Russian wheat was purchased from Union Company.
The wheat ordered is expected to be shipped during late January 2015.
In the last fiscal year that ended in June, the world's largest wheat importer had purchased 5.46 million tonnes of wheat in addition to the 3.7 million tonnes of locally procured wheat.
The government launched a new subsidised bread programme earlier this year to prevent smuggling and reduce wheat spending by selling flour to bakers at a non-subsidised price, the news report said.
This programme also aimed to encourage beneficiaries to replace their bread ration for other subsidised foodstuffs using a smart-card system.
Meanwhile, supplies minister also announced that the government will purchase wheat from local farmers in mid-April through payment of 420 Egyptian pounds ($59) per ardeb, the equivalent of around 150 kg, Reuters reported.
