Cairo: Egypt is expected to remain the Arab world's largest wheat producer in 2026, with output projected at 10.2 million tons, according to estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published by the Cabinet's Media Centre. The estimates were released as Egypt's wheat procurement season concluded, with total government purchases reaching around five million tons, the highest level recorded by the state procurement system.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Morocco and Iraq ranked second, with five million tons each, followed by Algeria with 3.5 million tons, Tunisia with 1.4 million tons, and Saudi Arabia with 1.1 million tons. Egypt's wheat production is expected to rise by around seven percent above its average level in 2026, mainly due to an expansion in cultivated areas, the Media Centre added.

Domestic production is projected to exceed 10 million tons, up 6.5 percent from 9.4 million tons in 2025. The increase has contributed to a decline in wheat imports to 12.5 million tons, compared with around 13.2 million tons the previous year. The area cultivated with wheat rose to 3.76 million feddans, an increase of up to 600,000 feddans from the previous season.

The government set the wheat procurement price at EGP 2,500 per ardab under directives from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to encourage farmers. Egypt has also expanded the development and cultivation of high-yielding, climate-resilient wheat varieties, including Misr 3 and Misr 4; Giza 171; Sakha 95 and 96; Sids 14 and 15; Beni Suef 5 and 7; and Sohag 5 and 6.

Wheat is Egypt's most strategic food crop and a key component of the subsidized baladi bread system, which serves approximately 71 million people. The government's local procurement programme is designed to secure part of the country's needs, build strategic reserves, and reduce exposure to fluctuations in global wheat prices and supply disruptions.

Egypt remains a major wheat importer despite rising domestic production. Imports fell to 12.5 million tons in 2026 from 13.2 million tons in 2025, while local production exceeded 10 million tons. The decline was attributed to expanded cultivation, higher-yielding varieties, improved collection systems, and policies encouraging farmers to sell their crops to the government.

The 2026 procurement campaign followed a record expansion in cultivated wheat areas to around 3.7 million feddans, about 600,000 feddans more than the previous season. The government also raised the procurement price to EGP 2,500 per ardab and set a target of purchasing five million tons from farmers. By 11 August, deliveries had reached approximately five million tons, or 94 percent of the target.