REPORT – In Egypt, the world’s largest importer of cereals, although the government may repeat that reserves will be sufficient until the end of the year, the shortage is already being felt.
Cairo
Hands blackened with soot, a cigarette in the corner of his lips, Islam, a baker in the souk of Saad Zaghloul, in the heart of Cairo, watches the pancakes fresh from the oven. His phone rings. The 40-year-old boss stops and receives a new order while an “agalati”, named after these bread delivery men on bicycles who swarm the streets of the Egyptian capital, extracts himself from the compact crowd . A wooden tray filled with cakes cleverly placed on his head, he goes to supply the canteens of the district.
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«Here, we produce about 50,000 units a dayIslam boasts. A figure greatly exaggerated in view of the modesty of its premises, but which shows that the family business is unaware of the wheat crisis which has been shaking the country for several months.
Egypt is the world’s largest importer of the cereal. Of the 20 million tons consumed here each year, more than 12 arrive from abroad. Until 2021, around 80% of purchases came from…
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