Egypt is to review its food subsidy system as it seeks ways to tackle rising inflation, which reached 14.2 per cent in March. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, finance minister, told the Financial Times that the government would look to raise additional revenues through new taxes or increasing existing taxes. However, he said corporate taxes, which were reduced in recent years as part of wider economic reforms, would not be altered, adding that no tariffs that impacted "on profit and production" would be increased.

What started as an ambitious dream, for a desert nation bereft of rivers and lakes to become self-sufficient in wheat, became a reality with the aid of billions of dollars from the first oil boom in the 1970s. Today, however, Saudi Arabia is preparing to phase out production by 2016. The volte-face could make the Gulf nation one of the world's top 15 importers of the cereal, even as countries across the globe grapple with high wheat prices.

Saudi Arabia plans to halt wheat production by 2016 because of concerns about the desert kingdom's scarce water resources, according to a US government agency. The Saudi Arabian government has not publicly given details of the move, which comes as global cereal prices surge, driven by strong demand and lagging supply. Top-quality wheat prices for baking bread hit a high this week of $25 a bushel and have more than doubled since January.