Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed El-Quseir has received a report on the results of the examination of the Indian wheat shipment, which affirmed that the shipment is free from all quarantine pests of concern to the Egyptian side.

The shipment, which amounts to up to 55,000 tons, was found to be of high quality with a protein content of 14 percent and a moisture content of less than nine percent, the ministry said.

Accurate examination was carried out on all the wheat before and while being loaded on the ship, the ministry said. Also, samples of the wheat were examined in an international laboratory accredited by the European Union.

The examination process was supervised by Ahmed El-Attar, head of the Central Administration of Plant Quarantine at the agriculture ministry.

The wheat included in the shipment was planted in areas free from dangerous quarantine pests, the ministry affirmed, noting that the shipment is being shipped from India’s Kandla port.

Egypt’s first imported wheat shipment from India comes as the country has been working on diversifying the sources of its wheat imports, holding talks with France, Argentina, and the United States.

This comes amid disruption in the country's wheat supply due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the two countries together accounting for nearly 30 percent of the world’s wheat exports.

Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, relies on wheat to produce bread – a key staple for Egyptians – with 80 percent of its imports coming from Russia and Ukraine.

Egypt imports 12 to 13 million tonnes of wheat per year, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) in 2020 – an online data visualisation platform focused on the geography and dynamics of economic activities across the globe.

Last month, El-Quseir announced that India is the latest in the list of countries that will serve as alternate sources of wheat for Egypt.

A delegation from the ministry traveled to India in April to continue technical studies on importing wheat from the South Asian country.

The delegation examined Indian grain during the visit, which involved touring fields and grain warehouses as well as export warehouses in different Indian provinces including Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Mumbai.

The delegation also discussed cooperation with the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, including the facilitation of Egyptian agricultural projects in India.