Egypt Set to Import Wheat from India

Egypt's Agriculture Ministry sent an official delegation to India on Monday in order to explore possibilities of sourcing grain from India to meet domestic demand.

According to the ministry, a number of high-ranking officials and experts from the agriculture quarantine and pest risk analysis of Egypt, which imported 6.1 million tonnes (mt) of wheat in 2021, are expected to visit processing units, port facilities, and farms in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab during their five-day visit.

Although India is not on the list of accredited countries which can export wheat to Egypt, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) has lately communicated with India’s wheat exporters to register with Egypt’s public procurement agency, the General Authority of Supplies and Commodities, which manages wheat and sugar imports to the north African country.

Egypt, which had imported around 81% of its wheat imports estimated to be close to $2 billion from Russia and Ukraine in 2021, expressed during the past two weeks its keenness to procure a significant amount of wheat from India.

The ongoing visit to India follows trade talks and meetings with various wheat-importing countries that are exploring possibilities of sourcing the grain from alternative sources as supplies have been disrupted because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

It's worth noting that India, which is one of the biggest exporters of wheat, announced earlier that New Delhi is aiming to export a record 10 million tonnes of wheat in 2022-23 amid rising global demand.