(Bloomberg) -- Egypt is taking advantage of the current dip in wheat prices to buy up nearly a third of its yearly requirement of the grain in one go.
The country’s state-run buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said it is looking to buy a maximum of 3.8 million tons of wheat in a tender next week. The country usually buys less than a million tons and does not announce how much it intends to purchase. The tender also has a longer-than-usual delivery period.
“There is a decrease in the global market and global commodity prices,” Egypt’s Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told reporters on Tuesday. “It is a chance to buy what we need of these goods due to the current situation in the global market.”
Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat buyers, and traders closely watch its purchases as a sign of where the market is headed. The USDA sees the country’s total wheat imports in 2024-25 at 12 million tons.
Wheat futures in Chicago are trading higher on Tuesday but still hovering near the lowest in four years as ample crops from the US keep the market well supplied.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.