Egypt says wheat stocks enough to last until early May

Egypt's stock of wheat for its subsidised bread programme will last until the first week of May, well into the start of the local harvest, after it bought 180,000 tonnes this week, Supplies Minister Khaled Hanafi said on Friday.

Hanafi said in a statement he expected new silos to come into use in March, in time to receive the local harvest and secure strategic reserves until October.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, said on Thursday it had bought 180,000 tonnes of French wheat in a tender for shipment Feb. 8-18.