Data: Egypt relied on competitive Russian wheat, with 2022 imports in decline

Reuters saw data that showed Egypt leaned more on Russian wheat imports last year, even though it imported much less wheat and made moves to get it from more places.

Egypt’s grain imports from Russia went down by 6.7% in 2022, but Russia’s share went up from 50% in 2021 to 57% when the General Raw Materials Authority, which is part of the Egyptian government, and the private sector bought grain.

This helped make up for some of the lower shipments from Ukraine, which made up 8.9% of Egypt’s grain imports in 2022, down from 28% in 2021.

Egypt, which buys a lot of grain, can not get it anymore because of the war in Ukraine. The government is in talks with countries like India to try to get more goods from other places besides the Black Sea.

The war had effects on Egypt’s economy that included a currency problem. This caused imports to slow down and goods to build up in ports. It also led to the conclusion of a $3 billion credit package from the International Monetary Fund.

Egypt has good political links with Russia, but officials and traders say that Egyptians prefer Russian grain because it costs less and is paid for in dollars.

Egypt’s supply minister, Ali Moselhi, told Reuters last week that the problem is “of course tied to price.” The things we offer and receive are FOB (free on board delivery), and we buy the one with the lower price.

Traders said that it was hard to pay because of the sanctions against Russia because banks are asking for more paperwork. However, Russian wheat is still the most affordable option as the government has bought more than 2 million tons in the last few months.

A dealer from Europe said, “Russian wheat is the best, even though the high cost of ship insurance and the bad weather in the Black Sea in the winter are problems.”

Mohamed El-Gammal, a grain expert for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Cairo, said that Egypt’s total grain imports dropped by 18.7% to about 9.5 million tonnes in 2022. This was because of rising prices and a currency crisis that made it hard for private mills and importers to pay. The cost of grain got stuck in ports. He also said that imports were at their lowest level since March 2013.

Besides Russia, shipments from Romania dropped by 35% to 1.3 million mt and from Ukraine dropped by 74% to about 845,587 mt.

Some of the things the private sector buys have become more diverse, with odd shipments coming in from the US, India, and Brazil.

Also, shipments from France went up, four times as much, to 1.26 million tons.