Production of Wheat Is Expected to Be Between 9 and 10 Million Tonnes in Egypt in 2022
The Claim
Wheat production in Egypt is expected to reach 4 million tonnes in 2022 for the first time in the country's history.
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Emerging story
A claim that Egyptian wheat production will reach 4 million tons for the first time in its history in 2022 is circulating on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar team investigated the circulated claim and found it fake. According to the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, Egypt's wheat production in 2022 is expected to be between 9 and 10 million tonnes, not just 4 million tonnes.
Egypt cultivates 3.6 million acres of wheat, and production is expected to range between 9 and 10 million tonnes this year, according to Reda Mohamed Ali, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture's Field Crops Institute and head of the National Wheat Campaign.
In a May 2021 report, the US Department of Agriculture predicted that Egypt's wheat production would reach 9 million tonnes in the 2021/2022 marketing year.
According to the most recent figures released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, wheat production in 2020/2021 was approximately 9.1 million tonnes. Egypt's total wheat production since 2006 has been no less than 7.2 million tons.
The 4 million tonnes of wheat mentioned in the circulating claim may refer to the amount the Ministry of Supply intends to collect from domestic wheat this season, as Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, previously stated that the ministry intends to receive 4 million tons of wheat this year.
Egypt, with its population of over 80 million people, is the world's leading wheat importer. In 2020, GASC increased imports to increase reserves during the pandemic, then reduced them last year due to Russia's export restrictions on wheat. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine, both of which are major exporters to Egypt, are driving up the cost of commodities in the country.
