Egypt announced the largest wheat procurement tender in the country’s history

This decision was made by the country’s president against the backdrop of food safety concerns.

The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, decided to hold the largest tender for the purchase of wheat in the country’s history. This is reported by Reuters.

The volume of the ordered batch is 3.8 million tons — almost 20 times more than the usual volume of purchases by Egypt. This decision was made by the head of the country due to growing concerns about food security.

So far, Egypt has purchased only 7% of this amount. The reason for this was the high prices demanded by the sellers due to Egypt’s desire to receive a significant delay in payment – up to nine months. At the same time, the General Directorate of Commodity Supply (GASC) has started direct negotiations with suppliers such as Russia in order to obtain better terms.

We will remind you that Egypt is one of the world’s largest importers of wheat. The country uses the grain to produce subsidized bread, which is vital for tens of millions of Egyptians. For many years, the country’s governments kept the price of bread stable to prevent social unrest. However, in June, the al-Sisi government raised the price of bread by 300%.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said the day before that strategic wheat reserves are now enough to supply the country for more than six months. He also added that Egypt may enter the market with new purchases if prices remain low.

As USM wrote, the Russian Federation recently sent stolen Ukrainian grain to Egypt.