The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) is considering importing wheat from the European Union countries in 2022, deputy supply and internal trade minister Ibrahim Ashmawy told Reuters.

The authority will not exclude other exporters such as the US, Kazakhstan, and Romania, Ashmawy added.

Moreover, he pointed out that GASC has cancelled two tenders for buying wheat since the Russian-Ukrainian war started.

The first was cancelled due to the lack of bids, while the second aimed at assessing prices, he said.

The Egyptian government was confident in existing reserve of wheat and its available quantity from local harvest that would be enough for nine months, Ashmawy noted.

Furthermore, he mentioned that it is not the best time to hedge against fluctuations in commodity prices.

It is worth noting that the government is in talks with Citibank and other unnamed banks to mull over options to hedge against volatile commodity prices.

In 2021, Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, had imported 50% and 30% of state and private sector wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine, respectively.

According to traders, Egypt has two wheat cargos of purchased wheat that are stuck at Ukrainian ports, with other deliveries at rick amid surging prices.

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