Egypt purchased a large amount of wheat, including Ukrainian

Egypt’s state-owned grain purchasing company, Future of Egypt, has agreed to buy at least 200,000 tonnes of French wheat in recent private deals with exporters, as well as several 30,000-tonne wheat shipments from Ukraine and Romania.

Egypt is one of the world’s largest wheat importers, buying more than 12 million tonnes of wheat a year from abroad. Egyptian state agencies import about 5 million tonnes.

In December 2024, the military-linked Future of Egypt, or Mostakbal Misr, took over international grain purchases. Previously, wheat and oil purchases through the state sector were handled by the General Agency for Supply of Egypt (GASC), a civilian agency under the Ministry of Supply. Future of Egypt, by contrast, has entered into private deals with local importers.

Traders said Future of Egypt may have contracted up to seven Panamax vessels carrying French wheat, totaling more than 400,000 tonnes, in the past two weeks.

This includes at least one 63,000-tonne vessel for delivery between 10 and 20 September, paid for by a 270-day letter of credit. Other cargoes are also expected to be shipped in the coming weeks, traders said.

Wheat is used to produce subsidised bread, which is consumed by more than two-thirds of Egypt’s population. This makes wheat imports vital for the country, which has failed to meet its target of 4-5 million tonnes of domestic wheat purchases in the 2024/2025 season, which ended on 15 August.

Traders said the expected price of the wheat purchased was between $265 and $270 per tonne, including cost and freight, with some deals estimated to be above $275 per tonne on a C&F basis.

Future of Egypt declined to provide details on prices or payment terms.

“The French harvest is almost finished and French supplies are available,” said one German trader. “I think Egypt would prefer Russian wheat, but supplies of the new crop in Russia are still extremely limited as farmers are not selling enough, especially wheat with a protein content of 11 percent.”

Wheat imports into Egypt through the public and private sectors fell by 30 percent to 4.9 million tonnes in the first half of the year.

Future of Egypt bought about 180,000 tonnes of French wheat in April. The shipment was initially expected in May and June. However, it was not completed until early August.

Tags: Ukraine, Egypt, tender, Romania, France, wheat