Egypt has 2.829 million tonnes of local wheat procured during the current season, one million tonnes more than the amount procured in the same period last year, a ministry statement said.
On other food reserves, Egypt had 1.021 million tonnes of sugar for its subsidy programme that will last five months and 764,000 tonnes for subsidised rice, enough for more than 10 months, the ministry said.
Subsidised vegetable oil stocks of 537,000 tonnes, enough to last eight months, are also available, in addition to contracts for 39,000 tonnes of sunflower oil and 50,000 tonnes of soyoil, the ministry added in its statement.
Egypt has not bought wheat at international tender since April 30, when it purchased 60,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat for late May shipment.
Since then, wheat shipments from Russia, which has recently been a big supplier to Egypt, have come under intense scrutiny after the prosecutor in May ordered a probe following the detection of dead bugs and impurities in some Russian wheat.
Egypt's prosecutor is probing documents related to a Russian wheat cargo imported by private firm Egyptian Traders Co to determine their authenticity. The Egyptian firm says the documents are valid.
Egypt has since seized over 100,000 tonnes of Russian wheat and ordered the re-export of the 52,000-tonne Russian wheat shipment now under investigation.
The Russian Grain Union has called Egypt's seizures provocative and an attempt to lower prices. Source: Public |
