January 2, 2008

Australian wheat lags in Egypt market due to drought
 

Egypt, one of Australi'as biggest wheat consumer, has purchased wheat from other markets as drought compromised Australia's capacity to produce.

Egypt normally buys up to US$500-million worth of Australian wheat each year.

This week, the country bought 260,000 tonnes of wheat from exporters in Kazakhstan, the US and Russia.

Australian exports of wheat have significantly decreased since 2006 and principal exporter AWB has reserved stocks to high-paying consumers.

Record grain prices, caused by a global grain shortage, also forced Egypt to abandon further purchases.

Australia's east coast reported no export of grain in 2007. This season's harvest is forecast to reach only12 million tonnes, less than half the country's yearly produce.