Egypt in talks to buy wheat, corn from Serbia

Egypt is in talks to import around one million tonnes of wheat, as well as an unspecified quantity of corn, from Serbia as part of its efforts to diversify its grain supplies, the supply ministry said on Wednesday.

Supply Minister Ali Moselhy spoke with Serbian officials to also supply wheat and corn from Romania and Bulgaria via Romania’s Constanta port, according to the statement.

The war in Ukraine disrupted wheat purchases by Egypt, one of the world’s top buyers.

The government has held talks with countries including Argentina and the United States in a bid to diversify away from Black Sea supplies.

These included an agreement to buy wheat from India.

Despite these efforts, Egypt relied more heavily on Russian wheat last year, buying 57% of its total wheat imports from the country, up from 50% in 2021.

The private sector was able to diversify some of its purchases, with rare shipments from the United States and Brazil making their way to ports.

Egyptian officials also held talks with the European Investment Bank on the financing of a large silo at Damietta port, with 200,000 tonne storage capacity, as well as five smaller field silos in other governorates.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Sarah El Safty; editing by Jason Neely)