Egypt’s sugar cane delivery season concluded in May 2025, but farmers have yet to receive half of their dues, amounting to about 8 billion Egyptian pounds ($154.7 million), a source at the Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (SIIC) told Al Manassa.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the delay was caused by the Ministry of Finance’s failure to make the necessary funds available on time. SIIC falls under the purview of the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade.
Total cane deliveries in the 2026 season reached about 6.335 million tons, compared with 5.476 million tons in 2025, an increase of 859,000 tons, or about 15.7%, the source said.
Sugar production from cane also rose, reaching about 675,870 tons in the 2026 season, up from 600,354 tons the previous season, an increase of 75,516 tons, or nearly 12.6%.
Moataz Morsy, a sugar cane farmer in Kom Ombo, Aswan, told Al Manassa that when trying to identify who is responsible for the delayed payments, government agencies shift the blame to one another.
“We are told that the Ministry of Supply is owed money by the Ministry of Finance, and when we contact the Ministry of Finance, the response is that it is not responsible for sugar cane farmers’ dues,” Morsy recounted.
Funds transferred to the supply ministry are earmarked for subsidizing ration goods, including farmers’ dues, and farmers ultimately bear the brunt of the delay in payment, he explained.
Morsy added that the delay in payments places farmers under mounting economic pressure and threatens their ability to prepare for the new farming season.
In recent weeks, farmers have stepped up their demands for the disbursement of their overdue dues, prompting the House of Representatives’ Agriculture and Irrigation Committee to discuss issuing requests for a briefing on the delay.
Mostafa Abu Sobhy, a sugar cane farmer in Qena governorate, warned that continued delays are worsening farmers’ financial conditions and making it harder to buy supplies for the coming season, amid persistently rising prices for fertilizers, labor, and other production inputs.
Speaking to Al Manassa, Abu Sobhy urged sugar companies to pay the remaining dues before preparations for the new season begin, saying the stability of sugar cane cultivation must be protected because of its importance to Egypt’s sugar industry and food security.
Concern has also grown among farmers after reports circulated of cuts to fertilizer allocations for agricultural land and sugar cane crops. The reports prompted members of the House of Representatives to submit urgent briefing requests asking the government to explain the reasons behind the decisions.
El-Nouby Abu El-Loz, secretary-general of Egypt’s Farmers Syndicate, told Al Manassa that the decision threatened sugar cane cultivation by reducing yield per feddan, lowering the crop’s sugar content, and increasing production costs.
