Washington--Egypt's main state wheat buyer is "moving aggressively" to replace 540,000 tones of wheat contracts canceled by Russia's ban on wheat exports, imposed due to massive drought, a US Agriculture Department attaché in Cairo said on Thursday. The ban has created new opportunities for US sales to both the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) and private importers, the attaché said, noting the private sector has already bought 300,000 to 400,000 tones of US wheat, mainly hard red winter wheat. "Egypt's overall food security is not jeopardized by the Russian ban," the attaché said, noting GASC has about 3 million tones of stocks, enough for four to five months worth of bread. But prices for GASC and private importers will increase, the attaché said. "Both GASC and private sector importers will have to purchase non-Russian wheat at significantly higher prices than those prevailing even a week ago," the attaché said. GASC bought 240,000 tones of French wheat at approximately US$280/tonne FOB plus US$30/tonne freight. That compares with a purchase GASC made a week ago of 180,000 tones from Russia at an average price of US$239/tonne, CIF, the attaché said. Attaché reports are not official USDA data.
