Egypt inaugurates US$48.52M strategic food warehouse project
EGYPT – Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali El-Moselhy has inaugurated a new phase of the national project to build strategic warehouses for food products in Luxor Governorate.
With an investment of US$48.52, the warehouse is part of the first phase of the project, among seven strategic food warehouses planned across the country, following the one in the Suez Governorate in June.
According to Ecofin Agency, Al-Moselhy said that the warehouse would be built on an area of 10 acres, adding that they would be operated according to international technical specifications to reach Egypt’s sustainable development goals.
The Minister of Supply also said that the warehouse will use the latest technology to manage the storage operations, ensure the safety and quality of products, and secure a strategic stock of food products throughout the year.
On his part, Deputy Minister of Internal Trade and Supply and head of the Egyptian Internal Trade Development Authority, Ibrahim Ashmawy, said that the warehouse in Luxor is expected to be completed within 18 to 24 months.
According to Mr. Moselhy, the said program aims mainly to double the food reserves at the level of the governorates targeted in the long term and to further reduce food losses.
Egypt, perennially the world’s largest wheat importer, has been working to increase its wheat reserves after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine adversely affected Egypt since 80% of the country’s imports came from the two nations.
To achieve its objective in local production, the Egyptian government recently increased its wheat storage capacity to 3.6 million tons in 2023, compared to 1.2 million tons in 2014, an increase of 200 percent.
In addition, this month, the Egyptian government has partnered with the Chinese government to develop new varieties of strategic crops that are more tolerant to drought, in particular, rice, corn, and soybeans.
According to the officials, the project aims to improve the resilience of farmers in the face of climate change following that, the official data shows that the country of the pharaohs has a water deficit estimated at 21 billion m 3 per year.
Therefore, these warehouses will contribute to controlling the storage system and preventing any kind of manipulation, in addition to facilitating inventory of available commodities in all governorates.
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