Abu Dhabi/Cairo | Reuters — Egypt and two companies from its strong backer United Arab Emirates have embarked on an ambitious plan to grow wheat in the desert that could boost the Cairo government’s credibility if successful. Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, has long aspired to become self-sufficient in its staple food through various […] Read more
UAE-Egypt alliance expands to desert wheat venture
Islamic State militants grab new weapon: Iraqi wheat
Baghdad/Abu Dhabi | Reuters — After seizing five oil fields and Iraq’s biggest dam, Sunni militants bent on creating an Islamic empire in the Middle East now control yet another powerful economic weapon: wheat supplies. Fighters from the Islamic State have overrun large areas in five of Iraq’s most fertile provinces, where the United Nations […] Read more
Syria again seeks rice after failed tender
Syria is seeking 135,000 tonnes of white short grain rice, its General Foreign Trade Organization (GFTO) said on Monday, after failing to buy in a tender that closed on Aug. 25. Syria’s civil war, now in its third year, has killed more than 100,000 people and driven millions from their homes. The country has also […] Read more
Syria tenders fail, doubt raised on Assad’s ability to buy food
Syria cancelled an urgent tender to buy sugar on Monday, two weeks after cancelling a bid to buy wheat, the latest signs that President Bashar al-Assad’s government is losing its ability to buy food as civil war destroys its harvests. In the failed transactions, Syria offered to pay for the food with funds held in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
