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Egypt faces shortage in wheat seeds

Egypt is facing a shortage in wheat seeds for the coming planting season because the Central Administration for Seed Production is late in producing seeds.

The Ministry of Agriculture has pledged to provide 40 percent of the total seeds needed by November, and the rest later.

Wheat is cultivated in October and cropped in May.

During October, private companies increased wheat seed prices by over 100 percent, from LE125 to LE330, due to the government's slowness.

The government aims to cultivate 3.5 million acres during the next season to produce 70 million ardebs, 10 million ardebs higher than the last season, thus reducing imported wheat by 2 million tons, down to 5 million tons.

Abdel Hamid Shehata, head of Central Administration for Seed Production, said seeds are now being prepared for distribution to farmers.

The total registered seed amount for the new season is up to 478,000 ardebs, including 320,000 tons produced by the Ministry of Agriculture and 158,000 ardebs produced by the private sector produces.

Egypt is the world's top wheat-importing country, bringing half of the 14 million tons it consumes yearly from abroad.

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