Egypt’s bread prices rise as wheat imports collapse amid Black Sea turmoil

Egyptian bakeries have raised the price of unsubsidised bread and fino rolls by 25 to 50 piasters in recent days, as flour costs surge by roughly 3,000 Egyptian pounds per ton since early August, according to industry sources.

The increases come despite the Supply Ministry attempt to set a ceiling on tourist and fino bread prices last month. The ministry set tourist bread at 2 pounds for an 80-gram loaf, 1.5 pounds for 60 grams and 1 pound for 40 grams. It set fino prices at 2 pounds for a 50-gram loaf, 1.5 pounds for 40 grams and 1 pound for 30 grams.

Khaled Sabry, official spokesman for the bakery division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, said higher flour prices are pushing up production costs and, in turn, consumer prices. He said the bread price increases also coincide with the start of the new school year, when demand for fino bread rises as families rely on it for packed lunches.

Sabry told Al Manassa that unsubsidized and fino bread that sold for 2 pounds on the market rose by about 25 to 50 piasters over the past two days, while other sizes saw smaller increases, in line with the rise in input costs.

Sabry stressed that the ministry does not fully control unsubsidised bread production, instead setting indicative prices. “When flour costs rise, so too does the price of a loaf,” he told Al Manassa.

Khaled Fikry, head of the bakery division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said flour prices had risen by about 1,000 pounds per ton over two days, bringing the total increase to about 3,000 pounds per ton over roughly a month.

Fikry told Al Manassa that flour prices currently range from 20,000 to 21,500 pounds per ton. Some varieties that sold for about 17,000 pounds have risen to more than 20,000 pounds, while others have climbed from 18,000 to about 21,500 pounds.

He said the impact of higher flour prices varies from one bakery to another depending on production costs and the type of flour used, noting that some bakeries may adjust their product prices again to reflect higher production costs.

Pressure on the price of flour is being driven by a 75% decline in wheat imports in July and August to about 480,000 tons from 1.95 million tons during the same two months of 2025. The decline was due to difficulties importing Russian and Ukrainian wheat and disruptions to shipping.

The increases come as Russian wheat exports through the Black Sea face new logistical pressures. Russia has restricted truck deliveries of grain to three export terminals at the ports of Novorossiysk and Taman as drone attacks on shipping routes in the region intensify.

The restrictions cover the NZT and KSK terminals at Novorossiysk and the ZTKT terminal at Taman. The three facilities have a combined annual capacity of more than 20 million tons, accounting for over 40% of Russia’s total seaborne grain exports, which supply major markets including Egypt and Turkey.

Egypt is the largest importer of Russian wheat, purchasing about 4.5 million tons from Russia in the first half of 2026, according to trade data. The country relies heavily on Black Sea supplies to meet its wheat needs.