June 25, 2013

Egypt to import wheat before the year ends

As he clarified previous comments by the supplies minister, the vice chairman of the state grain buyer said that Egypt will buy wheat in the international market before the end of December.

The supplies minister, Bassem Ouda, was asked on Thursday (Jun 20) at a news conference if he expected wheat purchases before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.

Mamdouh Abdel Fattah, vice chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) said, "Bassem Ouda meant that for sure we will be in the market before the end of the current year, which is end-December, and not the end of the current fiscal year, which is end-June."

Ouda also said Egypt had procured 3.561 million tonnes of wheat from local farmers as of June 20 and was continuing to buy more. The government has said that its purchase target from the local market this season is about four million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes. GASC has not made a purchase on the international wheat market since February.

Egypt, the world's top wheat buyer, usually buys about 10 million tonnes a year from international markets, combining state and private purchases for strategic stocks. Meanwhile, Egypt's central bank (CB) left its main overnight interest rates unchanged as economic growth remains tepid more than two years.

The bank is keen for stability ahead of a major anti-government protest scheduled for next week, economists said. All 11 economists in a Reuters survey had forecast that the bank would keep rates unchanged.