Egypt is negotiating imports of Russian wheat through a government-to-government deal, Bloomberg reported this week, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The North African country reportedly wants to buy 1 million tons of Russian wheat with delivery scheduled for this season, the outlet said, noting that it was not clear how close the two countries were to finalizing a deal.
Earlier this month, media reports indicated that, in a departure from its traditional way of buying grain through tenders, Egypt had purchased about 500,000 tons of wheat from Russia in a private deal.
In July, Nomani Nasr Nomani, an adviser to Egypt’s minister of supply, confirmed that his country was seeking to increase wheat supplies by diversifying its import sources in order to balance local production.
Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat importers and its purchases are closely tracked as a global benchmark. In July and August, Egypt increased its imports of Russian wheat by 11.8% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 1.28 million tons, according to data published by the Union of Grain Exporters.
Ibrahim Ashmawy, first assistant to the country’s minister of supply, earlier told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Russia currently accounts for 80% of Egypt’s wheat imports.
Russia has had two bumper harvests in a row, which have reinforced its position as the world’s top wheat exporter. It is set to supply 22.5% of global exports in the current agricultural year, compared to 15.9% last year, according to official estimates.
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