Egypt’s import of Russian wheat hit 7.5MT, 39% up YoY in 2023

EGYPT – Egypt’s imports of Russian wheat rose by 39% year on year (YoY) in 2023 to 7.5 million tons, compared to 5.4 million tons in 2022 according to business reports, citing the Egyptian government.

The increase in Russian wheat imports to Egypt came as its average price decreased last year by 27% to US$260 per ton, as compared to US$360 per ton in 2022, a government official told Asharq Business.

Ukraine, on the other hand, came in second place after Russia in terms of wheat exports to Egypt with 1.2 million tons, followed by Romania with around 1 million tons, the document read.

In 2023, the North African country’s total wheat imports went up by 12.5% YoY to 10.8 million tons from 9.6 million tons in 2022, the document added.

Despite the surge in Russian wheat to Egypt, UkrAgroConsult recently reported that Egypt’s imports of Russian grains dropped 25.6% year on year (YoY) in the six months to December 31st, 2023,

According to the report, Russian grain exports to Egypt amounted to 2.9 million tons, down from 3.9 million tons in the July-December period of 2022.

For 2024, Egypt’s state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) plans to purchase more than 5 million tonnes (MT) of wheat through international tenders, according to the Ministry of Supply and Domestic Trade.

This objective is an increase of 500,000 tonnes compared to imports made in 2023.

According to Nassr Nomani, the adviser to the head of the ministry, the domestic consumption of the grain crop currently exceeds 20 million tonnes per year.

At the same time, he noted, the total production is just over 9million tonnes, hence, the government and the private sector supplements the deficiency by importing 11 million tonnes.

Further, the GASC announced that it seeks white, wholly milled short grain rice from any origin in an international tender, on behalf of Egypt’s Holding Company for Food Industries to arrive from March 15-April 15 2024.

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