Posted on March, 12, 2019 at 11:34 am
Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, confirmed on Monday it had rejected a Romanian wheat cargo on a quality issue revolving around the grain's "falling number" specification, which measures milling quality.
"They sent us a letter asking if they can make another shipment with higher quality concerning the falling number," Supply Minister Ali Moselhy told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Cairo.
Traders with direct knowledge of the matter said the wheat may be returned to Romania, adding that the state grain buyer GASC had rejected the supplier's appeal to test the vessel for the third time.
"This seems to be a one-off incident and we don't think it will evolve into a trend like what happened before," one Cairo-based trader said.
Egypt rattled the market in 2016 when it reinstated a ban on even trace levels of ergot, a common grain fungus that can lead to hallucinations but is considered harmless at minor levels.
On Monday, Moselhy also said Egypt was looking to diversify the origin of its wheat imports, saying his ministry would like to cooperate with global grain players to create more "realistic" specifications for wheat.
He added that global wheat markets were stable.
Egypt consumes 16 to 18 million tonnes of wheat a year. The government imports about 7 million tonnes annually for its massive bread subsidy programme.
The country buys wheat primarily from the Black Sea region, but also from France and the United States.
Serbian wheat was added to a list of origins approved by Egypt's agriculture ministry for purchases in February.
Moselhy also said he expected local wheat procurement this 2019 season to remain stable at around 3.6 million tonnes.
Source: UkrAgroConsult