Wheat and politics

Side note: today Russia banned grain exports for the rest of the year, following droughts and wildfires. Many other countries (with the notable exception of the US) have been having major grain production shortfalls as well.

One country which may be particularly affected by this is Egypt; the government there subsidizes effectively free bread, which is a key factor in maintaining some semblance of social stability, especially in Cairo and Alexandria. This bread subsidy is one of the biggest line items in Egypt’s budget, and Russia is their primary grain supplier. This year (and next, if it continues) could push the country’s budget over the edge, and have a significant impact on the government’s stability.

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Published in: on August 5, 2010 at 13:39  Comments (2)  
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2 Comments

  1. […] subsidy is the largest line-item in the national budget, and depends on wheat imported from Russia, which may be related to the current trouble) But things have been steadily deteriorating; there have been a few abortive […]

  2. Yeah. I really need to read your blog more.


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