Egypt's cabinet has raised the local wheat procurement price for the 2023 season to 1,500 pounds ($48.5) per ardeb (150 kilograms), it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new price brings a 50% increase from the initial price the cabinet had set in August of 1,000 Egyptian pounds.
It approved in January an earlier increase that set the price at 1,250 pounds, which was already more than 40% higher than last season's procurement price of 865-885 pounds, depending on purity levels.
The cabinet said that the decision "contributes to reducing the bill for imports".
The decision is in the implementation of directives by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to monitor the price of wheat supply from farmers for the current agricultural season.
Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said in January that Egypt aims to procure about 4 million tons of wheat in the coming season which begins in April.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Egypt, one of the world's biggest wheat importers, leaned on its domestic harvest in the face of rising international prices and disrupted Black Sea purchases.
Internationally, Russian leaders said it is unlikely to extend the Black Sea grain deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the prospects of the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative "are not so good," according to Interfax news agency.
"The deal has been extended for 60 days rather than in full exclusively because exactly half of this deal has not worked and is still not working," he said.
The deal which was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye in the summer allows Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports.
The deal was a key factor in stabilizing the global food markets and was a rare diplomatic victory for Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian war.
The current deal expires in mid-May.
