INTERACTIVE: Platts Grains Import Equation: Mapping Global Trade and Subsidy Policies - Edition 2

People across North Africa and the Middle East expect their governments to guarantee that bread, a staple food item, is affordable at a low price. That price is typically tightly regulated, rarely increased, and has often been a source of political unrest.

Most countries in these regions are too dry to grow enough wheat to satisfy domestic consumption; therefore, their state grain boards procure wheat from the international market and are among the most significant global wheat buyers.