Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has proposed a number of actions that the Egyptian government should undertake immediately to offset rising oil and wheat prices caused by supply concerns and production disruptions as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Commodity prices, particularly for crude oil and wheat, have surged to record highs on the global commodities market in the past week, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military action in Ukraine continues for the second week in a row.
Sawiris has charged the Egyptian government with taking immediate action, despite the fact that rising crude oil and wheat prices will take time to impact the food and energy supply chains, resulting in an increase in the price of energy products and a surge in the price of food staples such as bread and pasta.
To combat the impact of the rise in oil and wheat prices on the economy, Sawiris said Egypt must replace gas and diesel power generation with alternative energy, export liquefied gas from liquid gas stations to Europe to benefit from the high gas price and compensate for Russian gas, and increase the country’s wheat cultivation area.
The billionaire’s latest advice comes almost two weeks after he warned Egypt’s government to stockpile and acquire extra quantities of wheat in light of the Russia-Ukraine situation.
His comment was motivated by the fact that Egypt imports two-thirds of its yearly wheat consumption and Russia and Ukraine produce 30 percent of the world’s wheat. Hence, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which marks one of Europe’s biggest security crises in decades, might cause prices of commodities such as crude oil, wheat, and soybeans to reach all-time highs.
In response to his statement, Egypt’s Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Aly Al Moselhy said Egypt has a wheat stockpile sufficient for an average of four months.
With the start of the local harvest season, the minister added that he expects the country’s wheat supply to last until October, as the government acquires more than 3.5 million tonnes of the crop locally each year.
