Wheat imports remain critical in Middle East

include Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In an annual report on the grains sector dated March 27, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in Cairo put Egypt’s 2025-26 wheat production at 9.3 million tonnes, with imports for the marketing year estimated at 13 million. “Wheat flour exports to other Middle Eastern and African countries continue to increase due to the lack of operating milling capacities in countries of conflict,” the attaché noted. “The expansion of wheat cultivation is challenged by population growth (which requires double the current cultivated area), limited water resources, land fragmentation, urbanization, competition from other winter crops, and inflated production costs.” The attaché put wheat consumption in 2025-26 at 20.4 million tonnes, up almost 1.5% from the previous year because of an increase in food, seed and industrial consumption, “primarily attributed to population growth.” “Egypt has a population of more than 107 million and is ...