Inflated prices for newly-available Russian wheat are leading Egypt's state buyers to consider alternative sources during today's tender
Egypt is stepping up efforts to find more sources for its wheat after prices it paid for Russian grain climbed almost 5 per cent in less than a month.
The state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) bought Russian wheat for US$243.5 per metric ton on 7 July, the first opportunity to purchase it after a yearlong ban on exports.
The authority paid up to $255.25 per ton at the last tender on 29 July.
Russia accounted for more than half of Egypt’s wheat imports before it barred all outbound cereal shipments in August 2010.
“Today the authority has a tender to determine the new source of imported wheat,” Nomani Nomani, head of GASC told Ahram Online.
He said there are around 10 countries joining the tender, including Russia, USA, Australia, Romania, France and Germany.
Russia may harvest 54 million metric tons of wheat in the year that began 1 July, up from 41.5 million a year earlier, the US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.
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