Egypt halts rice exports

Egypt yesterday decided to halt the exportation of all kinds of rice outside the country this year in order to cover the domestic market’s needs and to keep prices stable, state television reported.

In a meeting yesterday, the Egyptian Cabinet decided to purchase long grain rice from farmers for 2,300 Egyptian pounds ($259) per tonne and short grain rice for 2,400 Egyptian pounds ($270) per tonne.

It said it expects to receive up to two million tonnes of rice from farmers in the coming period.

Last month, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed that it is necessary to cultivate all the area of land allocated to rice growing, and to ban the export of rice in order to ensure lower prices for nationals.