Eight ships with Ukrainian grain stuck in Egyptian ports

Eight ships carrying about 200,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat remain at the docks of Egyptian ports.

This happened due to delays in opening letters of credit (bank guarantees of payment for delivered grain) for the state buyer Mostakbal, writes Latifundist.

According to market participants, about 200,000 tons of grain remain unpaid, and most contracts were concluded back in September.

Earlier, Fastmarkets reported that the delays are related to the new system of state grain procurement in Egypt, which is carried out by Mostakbal Misr (Future of Egypt) instead of the former operator GASC.

Fastmarkets noted that difficulties could have arisen due to a change of bank, long terms of letters of credit (up to 270 days) and the participation of private intermediaries, such as Isotech, which complicated the chain of payments. According to the publication, some of the ships were stuck in the port for over a month (from September 11-12).

Atria Brokers broker and ASAP Agri director Khrystyna Serebryakova noted that the first signals of the problem appeared in early October, when Egyptian demand practically disappeared for a week. According to her, traders found out that Egypt had technical difficulties with opening letters of credit.

“Because of this, up to 15 ships ended up on the roadstead, and this was immediately reflected in prices — they decreased on the Egyptian market,” said Khrystyna Serebryakova.

It should be noted that traders expect the situation to be resolved in the near future.

As previously reported by USM, Ukraine’s share in wheat supplies to Egypt has tripled — to 1 million tons in 2025 against 334 thousand tons a year earlier.