Abu Dhabi | Reuters — World food prices are seen falling further this year having settled near their lowest in seven years pressured by slowing economic growth, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) director general said Tuesday. The FAO’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy […] Read more
FAO chief expects food prices to fall further
Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry to keep sending wheat inspectors abroad
Abu Dhabi/Reuters – The Agriculture Ministry of Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, said on Friday it would continue to send experts to inspect government wheat purchases at ports of origin. Sources had told Reuters on Thursday that the agricultural quarantine authority was considering halting inspections abroad. “The central administration of the agriculture quarantine will continue […] Read more
Canadian wheat rejected in Egypt re-exported to Europe
Abu Dhabi | Reuters — A shipment of Canadian wheat rejected in Egypt over concerns it contained traces of ergot has been re-exported to Europe after Egypt’s agricultural quarantine rejected a petition from the supplier, trade sources said Thursday. Egypt’s quarantine authority has rejected a series of wheat shipments over traces of the common grain […] Read more
Egypt rejects Canadian wheat shipment over ergot
Abu Dhabi | Reuters –– Egypt’s agricultural quarantine authority has rejected a shipment of Canadian wheat, saying it contained traces of the fungus ergot, a trade source said and official documents obtained by Reuters showed. The move by the quarantine authority is the latest in a series of rejections, which have caused serious concerns over […] Read more
Egypt’s ergot saga leaves wheat traders in limbo
Reuters — One Egyptian official’s tough stance on wheat imports carrying a fungus that wreaked havoc in the Middle Ages is baffling global grain traders and putting a spotlight on policy-making disarray in the world’s biggest purchaser of the commodity. Alarm bells began ringing in Egypt when a 63,000-tonne wheat shipment from France arrived in […] Read more
Egypt moves to clarify ergot rules on wheat imports
Reuters — Egypt’s supply ministry moved to clarify rules on wheat imports on Thursday, saying it would allow shipments with traces of the grain fungus ergot to enter the country. Wheat traders have been concerned that uncertainty over payment and inspection terms in Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, would dampen export demand. The problem […] Read more
Egypt’s new wheat requirement could delay supplies
Cairo/Abu Dhabi | Reuters — Egypt, the world’s largest purchaser of wheat, has imposed restrictive import requirements, an agricultural authority official told Reuters, alarming traders who threatened to boycott tenders for the politically sensitive commodity. The new requirement — for a complete absence of ergot, a common fungus found in grains — could disrupt the […] Read more
Syria needs more wheat, despite healthy harvest
Abu Dhabi | Reuters — Syrian farmers enduring a fifth year of civil war have sold less wheat to the state than last year despite a better harvest and higher offer price, leaving a large shortfall to be made up with imports complicated by western sanctions. President Bashar al-Assad’s government has lost control over many […] Read more
Uncertainty over Russia’s wheat export tax seen slowing trade
Moscow/Abu Dhabi | Reuters –– Uncertainty over Russia’s new wheat export tax is slowing trade activity as traders who have signed forward contracts say they are unsure about how the formula will be implemented. The floating tax formula, to be launched from July 1, is intended to stop exports surging if the rouble drops steeply, […] Read more
Russia’s grain exports stop: farm lobby
Moscow / Abu Dhabi / Reuters — Russia’s grain exports have stopped due to curbs brought in to protect domestic supply, putting big deals at risk, an influential farm lobby group said on Wednesday. Russia’s main wheat buyers are Turkey, Iran and, very vulnerable to supply disruption, Egypt. Moscow imposed informal grain export controls with […] Read more
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