Reading Time: 2 minutes Abu Dhabi/Cairo | Reuters — Egypt and two companies from its strong backer United Arab Emirates have embarked on an ambitious plan to grow wheat in the desert that could boost the Cairo government’s credibility if successful. Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, has long aspired to become self-sufficient in its staple food through various […] Read more
UAE-Egypt alliance expands to desert wheat venture
Islamic State militants grab new weapon: Iraqi wheat
Reading Time: 4 minutes Baghdad/Abu Dhabi | Reuters — After seizing five oil fields and Iraq’s biggest dam, Sunni militants bent on creating an Islamic empire in the Middle East now control yet another powerful economic weapon: wheat supplies. Fighters from the Islamic State have overrun large areas in five of Iraq’s most fertile provinces, where the United Nations […] Read more
Egypt expanding efforts to ease food subsidy costs
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cairo | Reuters — Egypt is expanding its use of modern technology to tackle decades-old problems of corruption and waste in its costly food subsidies system as the government pursues reforms to ease the strain on state finances. Supplies Minister Khaled Hanafi said some 25 million Egyptian families who already have electronic smart cards for […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
