Finance Minister Amr El Garhy approved EGP 2 bn in additional spending to buy wheat from domestic farmers; the funding will be appropriated from the food subsidy budget, Al Mal reports. The Finance Ministry had already spent EGP 1 bn for the current harvest. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail had ordered the ministry to free up EGP 1 bn on Monday to expedite the purchase of wheat from farmers after the process was stalled. As we reported yesterday, a number of farmers have complained that the backlog of procuring their wheat harvest is growing significantly as the government is unable to provide a suitable number of silos, according to Al Mal. Private traders have reportedly convinced farmers to sell the wheat to them instead, with one source saying the local harvest is being mixed with imported wheat; government officials deny the claim. As it stands, Egypt has bought a total of 1.3 mn tonnes of domestically grown wheat since the start of the official procurement season on 15 April, the Agriculture Ministry said, according to Reuters. Cabinet put the figure at 1.15 mn tonnes on Saturday. It would also appear that the Agriculture Ministry has raised its expected target from the harvest to 9 mn tonnes from an initial 4 mn, according to statements by the Agriculture Minister.