The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced Thursday a deal made to import 55 thousand tons of US wheat at a price of US$277.5 per ton. Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), which brokered the deal, said the wheat will arrive between 16 and 30 September this year. Nomani Nasrallah Nomani, the authority's deputy chief of supply goods, told reporters in a statement, "The authority received eight offers to provide the needed quantities [of wheat] and that only one offer was accepted based on the Egyptian standards of technical specifications for the quality of wheat." Nomani said the US company Cargill Wheat made the best offer and received the contract. According to Nomani, Egypt is the second largest importer of wheat in the world and one of Russia's most important wheat importers. Egypt recently announced that it has sufficient wheat storage provisions and, therefore, will not be affected by Russia's recent decision to ban its exports. The decision to halt the export of grains during the period between 15 August and 31 December came following a recent drought and resulting fires that destroyed much of Russia's crops, affecting 20 percent of the country's agriculture. Russia is one of the top five exporters of wheat in the world and its decision to ban exports of wheat has led to noticeable increases in worldwide prices. The drought and fires are the worst Russia has experienced since 1992. Last week, the GASC purchased 12,000 tons of wheat from France at US$285.97 per ton to be delivered between 10 and 25 September. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
