Egypt’s rice production can cover local consumption needs for nine months, Ragab Shehata, head of the Rice Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, said on Saturday.

“A kilogram of rice is currently priced at EGP 17.5 in the wholesale markets,” Shehata added.

He indicated that fine-grain white rice prices are currently at EGP 17.5 per kilo, while the prices of broad grain rice are currently at EGP 18.5 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the prices of fine-grained white rice vary between EGP 27,000 and EGP 27,500 per ton, while broad grain rice prices range between EGP 29,000 and EGP 29,500 per ton, he noted to the press.

Shehata further expected that rice prices would maintain stability during the upcoming months of 2024 due to availability of huge tons of rice in the markets.

The Egyptian government intensifies efforts to maintain a stable supply of rice in local markets hedging against any crisis, he said.

This development resulted from the country’s intensive strides towards enhancing the supply of basic goods in the market to control increasing prices and boost people’s purchasing power.

Egypt’s rice market was grappling with a severe crisis earlier in 2023, with prices reaching EGP 28 per kilo on major retailers’ shelves in February.

In parallel, Egypt has faced significant challenges since the beginning of 2023 in managing rising prices of essential commodities such as sugar, rice, onions, and eggs.

These crises have contributed to surging inflation in Egypt during the first nine months of 2023, although the trend began to decelerate in October.

In November, Egypt’s annual headline inflation decelerated to 36.4 percent, down from 38.5 percent in October, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

However, commodity prices continue to climb amid supply shortages.

As per CAPMAS data, November prices of food and beverages recorded a 63.9 percent increase compared to November 2022, due to rising prices of meat and poultry, vegetables, and sugar and sugary foods by 81.6 percent, 78.2 percent, and 47.4 percent, respectively.

Published Date: December 24, 2023