Egypt bought wheat at the highest price in seven weeks, at an international grain tender.
Gasc, the state grain buyer for the world’s top wheat importer, bought 60,000 tonnes of French wheat, at a sparsely-attended wheat tender.
The 60,000 tonne cargo, from Casillo, was bought at $181.69 a tonne, excluding freight.
This is $2.82 a tonne more than the last time Gasc bought French wheat from Casillo, at its most recent tender on March 15.
Paris wheat front-month futures have fallen by more than 2% over the same period.
Low participation
And participation was very low as well, with just 5 sellers offering product, compared with the 15 or more which were earlier this season.
The cheapest offer in was for 55,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat from Venus, at $182.99 a tonne excluding freight, but shipping costs left the French offer more attractive.
Absent from among the sellers was Bulgaria, which was recently permitted to offer in Gasc wheat tenders.
Seller reluctance
Sellers have been reluctant to join in the tenders, due to conflicting rules on admissible levels of ergot, a hallucinogenic fungus, in cargoes.
Both Gasc, and the country’s Minister of Agriculture, have assured sellers that shipments with contamination of up to 0.05% would be accepted.
But the country’s quarantine officials have been digging their heels in, enforcing a zero-tolerance policy.
Sellers say it is impossible to ensure the complete absence of the fungus, meaning many are unwilling to take the risk of rejected cargoes.
Price support announced
On Wednesday the Egyptian government announced a ban on banning the trading of imported wheat in the domestic market during the April to July harvest season, when the government is procuring grain from local growers.
The government said it by domestic wheat at a price support level of EGP 420 per ardeb (150 kg).
This marks a reversal of an early decision, to scrap the wheat price support and instead issue direct subsidies based the area of land under cultivation.
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