Cairo, September 22 – Ibrahim Ashmawy, First Assistant to the Egyptian Minister of Supply, has clarified that the reports suggesting Egypt’s refusal to purchase Russian wheat are incorrect.

It was previously reported by Bloomberg that Egypt has decided to buy nearly half a million tons of wheat from France and Bulgaria. This decision was made due to Moscow’s blocking of Russian wheat supplies, which was caused by price discrepancies.

According to the Grain Exporters Union, Egypt has become a significant importer of Russian wheat. The data from the first two months of the 2023-2024 agricultural year shows an increase of 11.8% in wheat imports compared to the same period last year, amounting to 1.28 million tons for the previous season.

In early September, it was reported that Egypt had privately purchased about half a million tons of Russian wheat, deviating from its usual tender process. Nasr Al-Nomani, advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Supply for commodity supply affairs, confirmed that Egypt aims to increase wheat supplies by diversifying its import sources to supplement local production. Ashmawy, in an earlier statement to the News Agency, highlighted that Egypt is one of the largest importers of wheat and approximately 80% of its imports consist of Russian wheat.