In the agricultural heartland of Egypt, along the fertile banks of the Nile, one of the year’s most significant harvests is under way.

As the sun rises over the rural province of Menoufia, farmers in the village of Zawyet Razin begin their day, scythes in hand, cutting wheat stalks that glisten golden in the morning light. Lorries rumble along narrow, winding roads, carrying bundles of wheat to government silos and private buyers alike.

Zawyet Razin, where the Hamad family has farmed for generations, is cradled by a bend in the river, giving it an almost island-like quality. The land here is lush with crops, the air thick with the scent of damp soil and ripening wheat.

“This river gives us everything,” says Galal Hamad, 68, who has watched over the yearly wheat harvest for decades. “It’s why our fathers and grandfathers stayed here.” But wheat farming is no longer what it used to be, he says.

“In my father’s and grandfather’s time, it was all they farmed, it was all Egyptians knew. It was a time when farmers didn’t have access to the internet or to the world; they couldn’t speak to buyers or monitor prices. But you can’t live off wheat alone any more. Now, my biggest crop is potatoes. They're double as profitable as wheat.”

Wheat holds a central place in Egyptian life. The country is the world’s largest importer of wheat, consuming around 21 million tonnes annually but producing only about half that amount − this year's harvest is expected to be about 10 million tonnes. Egypt imported 14.4 million tonnes of wheat between January and October 2024 alone, with Russia supplying 77 per cent of that, according to data from the government's General Organisation for Export and Import Control (GOEIC).

Wheat in Egypt is packaged and sold by the ardeb, a traditional unit of measurement equal to about 150kg. Bread remains a staple of the Egyptian diet, accounting for 35 per cent of daily caloric intake on average. The government's subsidy programme, availed by 73 million Egyptians, or 65 per cent of the population, provides the popular flatbread baladi at a fraction of its market price of one to two Egyptian pounds ($0.02-0.04) per piece.

In June last year mounting economic pressures forced the government to increase the price of subsidised baladi for the first time since 1989, from five piastres a piece to 20 piastres. These pressures included high global wheat prices exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war, the weakening of the Egyptian pound, and the need to reduce public spending under an $8 billion IMF programme finalised earlier in the year.

Despite the price increase, the subsidy still covers 84 per cent of bread production costs – down from 96 per cent previously.

The government remains a significant buyer of domestically grown wheat, aiming to purchase four million tonnes this year, an 11 per cent increase from 2024. To ensure that enough wheat is produced each year, it offers farmers subsidies for growing costs and above-market prices and distributes genetically modified seed varieties like Masreya 2, which mature faster and yield more grain per hectare.

“They give us seeds at a subsidised rate, fertilisers at reduced prices, and they buy our entire harvest all at once,” says Mr Hamad. “Plus, they pay us within 48 hours of delivery. It’s very convenient.”

The government said it was raising the price it pays for wheat this year to 25 per cent above global market rates. Despite this, many farmers find wheat less profitable than other crops. The Hamad family this year entered a contract to supply Egypt's largest producer of potato crisps and farmed wheat only for their own consumption.

“There’s just so much competition now,” Mr Hamad explains. “Companies working in food, medicine, and even spice trades offer contracts that are far more lucrative than what the government pays for wheat. This is why there is always this competition between the public and private sectors.”

Mr Hamad's nephew Mahmoud, whose land is adjacent, says profitability is the central factor for farmers who, like much of the population, are struggling with rising costs of living. “You want to make the most money off your land,” he says. “But I still plant wheat every winter, even if it’s just for my family’s consumption. We don’t like the taste of the government-issued flour. It’s bitter.”

The Hamads, like many farmers, prefer a traditional wheat variety called "72", which produces a fine white flour that is not milled with bran, a defining feature of Egypt’s baladi bread.

“Bread baked with bran is healthier but in the countryside we don’t like any bran in our bread, so we just mill our own wheat from seeds we like. As for selling to the government, we sell them [wheat grown from] the seeds they give us,” Mahmoud says. “But for our bread, we want something better.”

Egypt’s wheat exports also play a significant role in its economy. In 2024, the country exported 1.12 million tonnes of wheat flour, valued at $450 million. Five countries accounted for 96 per cent of these exports, with Sudan taking 47 per cent, followed by Madagascar, Somalia and Palestine.

Flour exports to Palestine, around 12 per cent of the total, increased by 120 per cent in 2024, driven by traditional trade and relief efforts for Gaza, according to the GOEIC. At the same time, Egypt’s private sector has become a dominant force in the wheat trade, accounting for 72 per cent of wheat imports in the first quarter of 2025.

This growing competition between private companies and the government for wheat is reshaping the agricultural landscape. For farmers, this means more options – but also more complexity. Many now find themselves courted by private companies offering lucrative contracts for crops like potatoes, for which there is high demand from snack and fast-food manufacturers.

Egypt produced seven million tonnes of potatoes in 2024, and exported one million tonnes to over 30 countries, particularly to Europe. “Potatoes are just more profitable,” Mr Hamad says. “But wheat is still important. It’s Egypt’s lifeline. We have farmed it for thousands of years.”

Climate change and the future

This year’s wheat harvest began earlier than expected in Egypt’s southern provinces, a trend attributed to rising temperatures caused by climate change. “The seasons are changing,” says Mohamed Fahim, an adviser to the agriculture minister. “Farmers are having to adapt, and so is the government.”

Despite the challenges, there is optimism. The government’s incentives, combined with efforts to develop more resilient seed varieties, aim to maintain wheat’s central role in Egyptian agriculture.

Farmers like Mr Hamad and Mahmoud continue to plant wheat, not just for their families’ consumption but as a reminder of their heritage. As the lorries rumble away from Zawyet Razin, loaded with wheat bound for silos across the country, it is clear that this ancient crop remains more than just a commodity – it is a symbol of survival, resilience and life along the Nile.

Source - The National News