Egypt's government's agreements to purchase Indian wheat will not be affected by New Delhi's export ban, Egypt's supply minister said on Sunday. "We are negotiating with India on the basis of a government agreement. Governments, including Egypt's, are exempt from the ban," Minister Ali Moselhy stated during a press conference.
Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, is facing difficulties in securing wheat after Russia's invasion of Ukraine increased global prices and disrupted relatively cheap Black Sea supplies on which Egypt had become increasingly reliant.
It approved the import of Indian wheat, only for India to ban wheat exports on Saturday due to a scorching heatwave that reduced output and drove domestic prices to a record high.
However, India stated that it would continue to allow exports backed by previously issued letters of credit, as well as sales to countries that request supplies "to meet their food security needs."
Egypt's government has agreed to buy 500,000 tonnes of wheat from India, according to Moselhy, who spoke to Reuters separately on Sunday.
The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Egypt's state grain buyer, typically purchases wheat through international tenders, but Moselhy said at a news conference that the cabinet had approved direct purchases from countries or companies.
Egypt was in talks for such deals with India, Australia, Kazakhstan, and France, he said. Moselhy also claimed that Egypt turned away a ship, which the Ukrainian embassy in Cairo claimed was carrying wheat from Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine because it lacked the necessary paperwork.
"There were no shipping documents and no purchase request from any private or government entity. We denied it entry into Egyptian ports," Moselhy explained.
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