The Ministry of Trade and Industry put new regulations for importing wheat, against the backdrop of the criticism leveled at the ministry over the Russian shipment that the Attorney-General ordered to return. The ministry assigned the Food Supply Authority to tighten control over the inspection companies in order to ensure their commitment to international standards and know specifications at inspecting the shipments exported to Egypt. It would also double the financial guarantees paid by the companies that examine the wheat at the port of shipment. Penalties for the inspection companies include write-off of the Authority's suppliers' list and confiscation of their guarantees in case shipments are not in accordance with the Egyptian standards and the conditions of examination set by the Authority, which stipulate cleaning the shipping wards and presenting a validity certificate to that effect. The Authority would also import the wheat directly through international tenders and news agencies, through which the international companies that are registered at the Authority must bid according to the Egyptian standards as per the tender rules. As to the suppliers, they will have to present certificates of the validity of the wheat for Egyptian standards issued by the agricultural authorities of the exporting companies, including the United States, Russia, France, Canada, Ukraine and Australia. They must also submit certificates of validity that the wheat is as per Egyptian standards and contractual conditions, in addition to the inspection certificates of the international companies registered at the Authority. Shipments without such certificates will be rejected. The new regulations also stipulate that all bodies, importers, distributors and storage companies must abide by the procedures and instructions of the plant quarantine of the ministry of agriculture and the food control laboratories of the health ministry in light of the prevailing laws and ministerial regulations as regards the evaporation and filtering processes. They also stipulate abiding by the regulatory measures preventing leakage of cargo before the final release procedures have been completed, including the rules stipulated by the minister of agriculture's decree No. 3007 in 2001. At the same time, instruct all bodies to inspect the samples as per the Egyptian specs and discard any certificates submitted by the importer other than the ones mentioned. Moreover, all samples must be tested by the laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Health Ministry and the Export/Import Control Authority, the only bodies that can clear any wheat shipments. The minister warned all government bodies and registered importers and international inspection companies of penalties in case they do not conform to the said regulations and the contract with the Food Supply Authority. Ali Sharaf Eddin, Chairman of the Grain Chamber, said the ministry ignored the private sector in its new regulations, which means the private companies will continue to import low-quality wheat. He said: "Why would the government, represented by the Food Supply Authority, not import the wheat by itself, especially that it is able and has the expertise, and not through the private sector? It seems there is a lobby that managed to pressure the trade minister not to ban the private sector from importing wheat. We will continue to suffer from wheat problems if these companies continue to import it. Also, the government cannot impose penalties on the international inspection companies, as they are not under its control."
