Bloomberg: Egypt in talks with Russia to buy 1 million tons of wheat

Egypt is in talks with Russia to buy 1 million metric tons of wheat through a government-to-government deal, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 26, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The discussions reportedly concern deliveries for this season. However, Bloomberg added that it is unclear how close the two countries are to a deal.

The outlet commented that since last year, Egypt has begun shifting from traditional open tenders to government-to-government deals when securing its agricultural imports.

One of the world's leading grain buyers, Egypt imported 62.6 million metric tons between 2017 and 2021, with 59.7% coming from Russia and 22.3% from Ukraine.

Russia's termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17 and attacks against Ukraine's ports continue to hamper Kyiv's grain exports. Moscow seeks to utilize this and replace Ukraine's agricultural products on the global markets with its own supplies.

While attempting to stay neutral in the Russian-Ukrainian War, Egypt maintains a close relationship with Moscow. Egypt is simultaneously a close military partner of the U.S., which provides it with $1.3 billion every year in military aid.

According to media reports, Cairo has resisted appeals to provide military aid either to Russia or Ukraine during the ongoing war.

WSJ: Egypt resists US calls to supply Ukraine with weapons

The U.S. managed to convince Egypt not to send rockets to Russia but has so far failed to persuade Cairo to arm Ukraine instead, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 11, citing U.S. and Egyptian officials.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek