Egypt in Talks with Argentina, India and US on Wheat Imports

A farmer tends wheat at a field in El-Kalubia governorate, northeast of Cairo, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A farmer tends wheat at a field in El-Kalubia governorate, northeast of Cairo, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
TT
20

Egypt in Talks with Argentina, India and US on Wheat Imports

A farmer tends wheat at a field in El-Kalubia governorate, northeast of Cairo, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A farmer tends wheat at a field in El-Kalubia governorate, northeast of Cairo, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt is in talks with Argentina, India, France and the United States for future wheat imports but is in no rush to buy at the moment, the supply minister said on Thursday.

Egypt, one of the world's biggest wheat importers, is looking for alternatives to Black Sea grain exports which face disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both major wheat exporters to Egypt. Global grain prices have soared.

"There's no need for tenders right now but we are planning for the entire year so we are open to all possibilities and preparing backup plans," Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said.

He said Egypt could start tendering again in the local mid-harvest period, which typically starts in April and ends in July or August. The government aims to procure 6 million tons of wheat from the local harvest.

The minister said the government had already held talks with the United States and France and would meet Argentinian representatives next week.

Indian suppliers still have to seek accreditation as an import origin from state buyer the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Reuters reported.

The government set a fixed price for unsubsidized bread this week after bread prices jumped 25% to 1.25 Egyptian pounds($0.07) per loaf in some bakeries. Flour prices had also reached highs of 11,000 Egyptian pounds ($602.70) per ton in the weeks since the invasion.

The supply ministry said it would begin offering flour to the private sector at 8,600 Egyptian pounds ($471.23) per ton, and would penalize for violators of the fixed prices from Saturday, the minister added.



Zelenskiy Says he May be Forced to Sign Mineral Agreement with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
TT
20

Zelenskiy Says he May be Forced to Sign Mineral Agreement with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said he may be forced to sign an economic agreement with the United States that would ensure continued aid for Ukraine in return for the US making a profit from minerals in the country.
“If your conditions are, ‘We will not give you aid if you do not sign an agreement,’ then it is clear,” Zelenskiy said during a news conference at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“If we are forced and we cannot do without it, then we should probably go for it ... I just want a dialogue with President (Donald) Trump."
The Trump administration has pressured Zelenskiy to sign a deal allowing the US access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals as a form of compensation for the assistance the US has provided to Kyiv as it defends against Russia's invasion.
Zelenskiy earlier declined to sign off on an initial US offer, arguing it did not provide Ukraine with the security guarantees it needs to deter Russian attacks.
On Sunday, Zelenskiy said he was open to brokering a deal that would let the US profit from his country's minerals, but the $500 billion sum initially proposed by the Trump administration wasn't acceptable.
"I am not signing something that will be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians,” The Associated Press reported.
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, left the Kyiv forum early on Sunday along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what Yermak said were talks with US officials on a potential deal.
He said Ukraine’s mineral resources represent “a very important element that can work in the general structure of security guarantees — military guarantees and others.”