Adds details
PARIS, March 15 (Reuters) – A vessel is loading about 30,000 tonnes of wheat in France bound for Egypt, according to shipping data, in what traders said was a rare French sale to Egypt’s private sector as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine squeezes supplies.
Disruption to Ukrainian and Russian exports has left buyers seeking alternative supplies, with EU wheat seeing a wave of demand despite record prices. GRA/EU
Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, mainly sources foreign supplies from Russia, Ukraine and Romania via the Black Sea, with imports spread between government agency GASC and the private milling industry.
The Clipper Dee bulk carrier is loading at Rouen, the northern French port that is France’s biggest grain export terminal, shipping data showed. GRAIN/SHP/FR
“It seems to be a sale for the private sector,” a French trader said. “Availability is becoming really tight for importers.”
An Egyptian official source said the cargo was not destined for GASC, suggesting a sale to a private importer.
France, the European Union’s biggest wheat exporter, is an occasional supplier to state buyer GASC but traders say it has not been known to serve Egypt’s private sector in recent years.
In its international tenders so far this season, GASC has purchased a single 60,000 tonne cargo of French wheat, which was loaded in February.
The war in Ukraine, which has halted commercial shipping from Ukraine and triggered Western sanctions against Russia, has raised doubts about Egypt’s import programme, although the government says existing stocks and expected volumes from the local harvest provide sufficient cover.
French wheat is also set to see renewed demand from Algeria, after losing market share this season due to diplomatic tensions and a push by Algiers to attract Black Sea supplies.
Shipping data showed a cargo of around 30,000 tonnes of wheat was due to load in Rouen for Algeria. That followed a reported move by the country to lift an exclusion on French supplies in a tender for March shipment.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Michael Hogan and Sarah El Safty; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Edmund Blair)
(([email protected]; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
