Two sources who have direct knowledge of the matter said that Egypt's state grain purchaser, Mostakbal misr for Sustainable Development (Mostakbal Misr), has secured enough wheat to cover Egypt's requirements through June 2025.

Some traders questioned the size of these deals due to the lack of information about timing, pricing and whether they were entirely new contracts.

Sources, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorised to speak in public, said Mostakbal Misr had contracts worth 1.267 millions metric tons. The majority of these were sourced from Russia.

They added that the wheat contracts have already begun to arrive at Egyptian ports and further deliveries are scheduled for the next few months.

Mostakbal Misr was selected in December to be Egypt's exclusive importer of strategic commodities. This marked a major change.

Mostakbal Misr was established by presidential decree in 2022 and was previously the development arm for the Egyptian Air Force. The General Authority for Supply Commodities, which was around for decades, was the strategic grain buyer for the country.

GASC imports 4-5 millions of tons annually.

The sources cited an inconsistency between the figures of Mostakbal Misr’s contracted volumes and the evidence seen on the market so far, as well a lack clarity regarding the terms of procurement.

We cannot confirm the transaction. "Accredited Russian exporters do not know the details of this transaction as they were not involved in it," Rusgrain's Eduard Zernin said.

The sources claimed that some volume was purchased but the amount "purchased" was "nowhere close" to the figures mentioned by a European trader.

A second trader stated that the amount was approximately 480,000 metric tonnes, mostly sourced from local warehouses in port and paid for using Egyptian pounds.

Could not independently verify information.

Egypt relies on wheat imports to supply bread subsidised for 70 million people. It has faced challenges in importing grain over the past few months as its strategic reserves are dwindling.

Un official of the Egyptian government told reporters that international organisations offering hard currency to Egypt have been resistant to the new agency.

Official said that they only wanted to deal with "civil bodies" and not a government agency. The strategic reserves have fallen from seven months in July 2024, to just three months now, even including quantities previously contracted.

The GASC purchased 430,000 tons (or 400,000 metric tons) of Russian wheat in September for delivery in October. Delays pushed the shipments into November and December. Only two shipments of 120,000 tons have been delivered.

Egypt also purchased 290,000 tonnes in November, bringing the total wheat shipments from September to 410,000.

This is a fraction of the wheat procurement plan for Egypt, which was announced by Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply, in a previous estimate. Reporting by Mohamed Ezz and Michael Hogan; Editing by Jason Neely, Barbara Lewis

(source: Reuters)