Egypt’s state purchaser orders wheat from Ukraine, Romania and France

Egypt’s state grain buyer Future of Egypt has agreed to buy a large batch of wheat from France, as well as grain from Ukraine and Romania.

This is at least 200,000 tons of French wheat in recent private deals with traders, Reuters reports.

In addition, Future of Egypt has ordered several batches of 30,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine and Romania.

Egypt remains one of the world’s largest wheat importers: state structures annually purchase about 5 million tons of more than 12 million tons of total imports.

In December, FoE, which is associated with military structures, took over the function of purchasing grain on international markets from the old structure – the State Administration for the Procurement of Raw Materials (GASC). While GASC traditionally held tenders, FoE prefers private deals.

Traders said FoE could have ordered up to seven large ships of French wheat, equivalent to more than 400,000 tonnes, in the past two weeks. Among them is one bulk carrier of 63,000 tonnes for shipment between 10 and 20 September, with payment under 270-day letters of credit. Other consignments are also scheduled for immediate shipment.

The wheat is needed to produce subsidised bread, which is consumed by more than two-thirds of the country’s population of 108 million, which is already suffering from inflation and deteriorating living conditions. Egypt failed to meet its domestic procurement target of 4-5 million tonnes for the 2024/25 season, which ended last Friday.

The estimated purchase price was $265-270 per tonne (CFR), with some deals likely to exceed $275 per tonne. FoE did not disclose details of prices or payment terms.

According to European traders, French grain is now readily available, while Russian is limited: farmers are selling little, especially wheat with a protein content of 11%.

After the change in the procurement model, some deals have been delayed or revised, which traders attribute to a less predictable process. Overall, in the first half of the year, Egypt’s wheat imports (public and private sectors) decreased by 30% and amounted to 4.9 million tons.

Earlier, in April, FoE concluded a deal for 180 thousand tons of French wheat, which was planned to be shipped in May-June, but the actual loading took place only in early August.

Earlier, USM reported that Russia had stolen 2.5 million tons of wheat from the occupied regions.