Egypt: Wheat deal with India on, not shipped yet, says minister

Cairo: Egypt’s supply minister Aly Moselhy on Monday said that the deal to buy wheat from India still stands, but there is no clarity on when the grain will be shipped.

Egypt is one of the biggest importers of wheat and has faced a shortage of grain since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Moselhy further said, “In June that Egypt had contracted to buy 180,000 tons of wheat from India, after initially agreeing to purchase 500,000 tons.”

However, the shipment of grain from India has been stalled, following the ban imposed on private overseas sales of the grain on May 14. It is to be noted that countries like Egypt were exempted from the ban. The production of wheat in India has decreased due to heatwaves in the country.

In order to meet the requirement, Egypt’s government has bought around 1.8 million tons of wheat since the start of the current fiscal year, the minister said. The country has been importing wheat from countries including France and Russia, reported Arab News.