CAIRO — The Egyptian government is boosting its wheat reserves, in the first two weeks of March alone purchasing some 1 million tons, about 20% of the total it procured last year. There are several possible explanations for the move, but the unexpected purchase cannot be separated from the angry protests that erupted in several governorates March 6-7 after a Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade order cut the subsidized bread allocations to bakeries, supposedly to curb corruption and waste. 

In Alexandria governorate during the unrest, police drove around distributing free bread in an attempt to calm the situation. They also promised to convey protesters' demands to officials. The effort appeared to persuade the demonstrators to stand down.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade had immediately responded to the protests, with Minister Ali Moselhy apologizing at a March 7 press conference. Moselhy, newly installed in a Cabinet shuffle in February, explained that the distribution system would again be adjusted and that everyone would get their allotted amount. He said it takes about 10 million tons of wheat each year to cover demand through the bread subsidy system. 

Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat consumers, with annual consumption as high as 16 million tons, Moselhy said. According to a March 16 Reuters report, Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities regularly imports 5 million to 6 million tons of wheat each year, while the private sector imports almost as much.