(AFP Photo/Petras Malukas)
Egypt’s wheat stocks are currently large enough to last the country until midway through February 2014, according to Mohamed Abu Shadi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade. The government had recently been forced to import 80,000 tons of wheat to make up for shortages witnessed in strategic stock during previous periods.
In a nighttime interview with satellite station Al-Hayat Al-Yom, Shadi said that the Morsi administration had halted wheat imports based on false data regarding local rates of production.
He emphasised that any decision made regarding supply products was connected to the fate of the country’s supply card program, adding that 18.2 million of such cards had been distributed throughout Egypt, benefitting an estimated 69 million citizens.
All funds allocated within the public budget to subsidize food products had already been made available via the country’s supply card program, put forth by the General Authority for Supply Commodities, Shadi said. He added that the government currently sought to put into effect all economic decisions so far passed.
Shadi went on to say that the Ministry of Supply had recently made large amounts of oil available on the domestic market, stating that 25,000 tons of oil freight shipments had been made available Tuesday, with an additional 20,000 tons set to be docked Wednesday. This is to say nothing of an additional 30,000 tons recently purchased and soon to be made available on the local market, he said.
With regards to rumours claiming that supply products had been withheld, or that the quality of such products was purposely devalued, he stated that such claims had been orchestrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, who staked much of its previous electoral platform on claims that it would reform the policies of the Ministry of Supply.
