Egypt’s local markets saw mixed price movements on October 27th, with key food staples and vegetables showing sharp fluctuations, according to the daily report issued by the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).

The Egyptian government is planning to reduce the area allotted for rice cultivation in the country by around 32% to 750,000 feddans as of May 2025 from 1.1 million feddans in the current season.

The Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has directed the government to set a plan to further develop water-efficient rice seeds.

The Egyptian General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has launched a tender to import white wholly milled short-grain Indian rice for the Holding Company for Food Industries.

Egypt’s General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has imported 250,000 tons of white rice, to be delivered within six months as of date of the contract.

Egypt has suspended rice distribution on ration cards, with priority to be given to purchase of commodities such as cooking oil and sugar, Under Secretary of Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade in Daqahliyah El-Sayed Daira said.

The world’s food security has been threatened since the Russian-Ukrainian War broke out in early 2022. As a consequence, the global prices of all strategic grains and commodities soared. This was combined with the recent decision of India to ban its rice exports, which led the international rice prices in July to the highest levels in 11 years.

The announcement comes a few days after the government ended its price cap on rice as of February 15th, despite the three-month extension approved by ministers in mid-December.