CAIRO: An official document issued by the committee for vessel guidance in the maritime transport sector confirmed that Egypt continues to import wheat intended for animal feed from Ukraine and Russia. The document, published by Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, indicated that around one million tons of this wheat were imported to Egypt from Oct. 1 through Nov. 14. "Egyptian lands still continue to receive the wheat coming from Russia and Ukraine that is intended for animal feed and unfit for human consumption, the document read. The document claims that the General Agency for Supply Commodities (GASC), along with other privately-owned entities, is responsible for importing this wheat. Since Oct. 1, Ukrainian wheat imports to Egypt amounted to 30, 4829 tons whereas Russian imports totaled 67, 5673 tons, the document stated, highlighting the fact that during this short period of time, almost one million tons of this wheat were imported to Egypt. This contradicts a press statement by GASC, which said that Ukrainian wheat imports have constituted only 25 percent of total imports to Egypt since July. In its statement that was sent to Daily News Egypt earlier this week, GASC had denied allegations that imported wheat intended for animal feed has been used in making bread in Egypt. Members of parliament have claimed that a recent batch of wheat imported from European countries was found to be unfit for human consumption, and is actually used in animal feed, but has been baked into the bread millions of Egyptians consume everyday. The allegations resulted in a public outcry as several authorities denied responsibility of the decision to allow this wheat to enter the Egyptian market. Hesham Ragab, the minister of trade and industry s legal advisor, accused wheat traders and importers of spreading false and misleading information to the public through the press, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. According to Ragab, conflict of interests between some of the private traders in the wheat industry has led to this "campaign. To further support his argument, Ragab said that the imported Ukrainian wheat goes through a modification process before it is sold in the market. It is mixed with other wheat, either local or imported from the United States. This has been going on for so long under the Ministry of Social Solidarity s supervision.
