Egypt has signed a contract to buy 180,000 tonnes of wheat from India, the country’s Procurement Minister Aly Moselhy said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The quantity is much smaller than originally agreed
Egypt, one of the world’s largest importers of grain, is looking for alternatives after the blockade of grain exports from the Black Sea due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It is noted that Russia and Ukraine were the main suppliers of wheat to Egypt.
The crisis in Ukraine has also increased the cost of imports to Egypt, which heavily subsidizes bread for more than 70 million citizens out of a population of 103 million.
Moselhy said in May that Egypt had agreed to buy 500,000 tonnes of wheat from India but that no contract had been signed.
India had banned wheat exports in May due to declining domestic production, but excluded countries with food security needs such as Egypt.
“Based on what the supplier said, the condition was that the wheat be in ports. Then it would be available,” Moselhy said on Sunday.
“We had agreed on 500,000 tonnes, but it turned out that (the supplier) has 180,000 tonnes in port,” he added.
Moselhy also noted that Egypt is also in talks with Russian suppliers on a possible wheat purchase agreement.
Earlier today, the Egyptian minister had stated that the country plans to reduce wheat imports by 500,000 tons per year or about 10%.
Source: Capital
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