Bureaucrat and Old Fungus Law Hold Egypt's Wheat Supplies Hostage
A global grain glut should make purchasing wheat cheap and easy for Egypt, the world's biggest importer, but traders say one bureaucrat has made it anything but. Saad Moussa, the head of the agricultural quarantine agency, refuses to let in a single grain of wheat infected with ergot, a common fungus that can lead to hallucinations and irrational behaviour in large quantities but at trace levels is of no harm to humans. Confusion over Egypt's position on ergot levels has disrupted wheat tenders, raising the possibility of a shortage of grain which could pose a political problem for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the impoverished population relies on highly subsidised bread.
Egypt Buys 175,000mt of Russian Wheat
Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said on Wednesday it had bought 175,000 metric tons of Russian wheat for shipment Sept. 11-20. GASC said it bought the wheat at an average price of $260.14 a metric ton, on a cost and freight basis. The world's top wheat importer has so far bought 890,000 metric tons of Romanian, Russian and Ukrainian wheat since the start of the fiscal year on July 1. The supply ministry said earlier this month its stocks had increased to six months worth, to last until the end of 2014. Egypt purchased a total of 5.46 million metric tons of wheat from abroad in the 2013-2014 fiscal year in addition to 3.7 million metric tons of local wheat.
