Egypt and Tunisia post updates on wheat supplies

An Egyptian cabinet spokesman has said that between domestic production and strategic reserves Egypt has enough wheat to cover nine months of need. 

He acknowledged that while Egypt can buy from producers away from the Ukraine conflict, Egypt will have to pay higher prices due to limited global supply.

Tunisia's ministry of agriculture, which imports nearly 50 percent of its wheat supplies from Ukraine, has said it has enough stored for the next four months.

Ukraine and Russia provide much of the world's wheat, and countries across the Middle East are likely to be hit with price rises if supplies are disrupted.

As the world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt would likely be severely affected. The most populous Arab country - home to 102 million - imported 12.5m tonnes of wheat in 2020-21, with almost 85 percent coming from Russia and Ukraine.

"Egypt will be deeply affected in case the war erupts between Russia and Ukraine," Hesham Abuldahab, a member of the grains section at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, told Middle East Eye. "Most of our wheat imports come from these two countries."

Algeria and Libya which are also significant wheat importers are expected to be impacted as well.