Egypt buys 126,000 tons of wheat from Russia, Ukraine as conflict rages on
March 14, 2022, 5:13 pm

Egypt buys 126,000 tons of wheat from Russia, Ukraine as conflict rages on

Wheat field (File photo: Pixabay)

The Arab News reported, Egypt has bought about 126,000 tons of wheat from Russia and Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade said, the shipments, comprising about 63,000 tons from each side, are expected to arrive at Egyptian ports in the coming days.

It added that the country has also bought about 63,000 tons of wheat from Romania and recently received a further shipment of the grain from France.

The announcement came after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi recently met with the government to approve new incentives encouraging local wheat growers to increase their output during the current season.

Following the meeting a presidential spokesman said the talks dealt with “a review of the executive position on a number of national projects in the food security and agriculture sector,” including efforts to increase productivity.

“In this context, the president directed to grant an additional supply incentive to the price of local wheat for the current agricultural season, in order to encourage farmers to supply the largest possible quantity,” the spokesman said.

Egypt’s Minister of Supply Ali Al-Moselhi said the government aimed to purchase more than 6 million tons of local wheat during the current harvest season, which begins in mid-April.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that the country’s strategic reserve of wheat was sufficient to last for four months and that the government would not have to resort to buying further shipments from overseas before the end of the year.

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Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat and buys most of what it needs from Russia and Ukraine.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

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On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

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Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.