CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) -Egypt’s state grains buyer Future of Egypt has agreed to buy at least 200,000 metric tons of French wheat in recent private deals with exporters, plus several 30,000-ton cargoes of wheat from Ukraine and Romania, it told Reuters on Monday.
The North African nation is one of the world’s top wheat importers. On average, state agencies bring in about 5 million tons of its total wheat imports of more than 12 million tons.
The military-linked Future of Egypt, or Mostakbal Misr, took over international grain purchases from the decades-old General Authority for Supply Commodities in December, marking a significant shift in the country’s food procurement strategy.
GASC, a civilian agency under the supply ministry, traditionally imported wheat and vegetable oils through international tenders. FoE, by contrast, has made private deals with mostly local importers.
Traders said that FoE may have booked as many as seven large panamax vessels of French wheat, or more than 400,000 tons, in the past two weeks.
That included at least one 63,000-ton vessel for September 10–20 shipment with payment via 270-day letters of credit, with other cargoes also understood to be for prompt shipment in the coming weeks, traders said.
Wheat is used to produce subsidised bread for more than two-thirds of the country’s 108 million people, who are already struggling with high inflation and worsening living conditions.
This makes wheat imports vital for the country, which failed to reach its 4 million-5 million ton target for domestic wheat purchases for the 2024/25 season which ended on Friday.
Price estimates for the shipments were around $265 to $270 a ton cost and freight included, with some estimates of deals above $275 a ton c&f, they said.
FoE declined to give details on prices or payment terms.
“France’s harvest is all but finished, and French supplies are available,” one German trader said.
“I think Egypt would prefer Russian, but Russian new-crop supplies are still stubbornly tight as farmers are not selling enough, especially 11% protein wheat.”
Since the transition, some agreements have reportedly been revised or delayed, with traders citing a less predictable process.
Egypt’s wheat imports dropped by 30% to 4.9 million tons in the first half of the year. These include imports by the state buyer as well as the private sector.
FoE previously booked about 180,000 tons of French wheat in April, with loading initially expected in May and June. However, that was not completed until early August.
(Reporting by Mohamed Ezz in Cairo, Sarah El Safty in Dubai, Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Gus Trompiz in Paris; Editing by David Goodman and Jan Harvey)
