It is the Mostakbal Misr agency, an entity operating under the supervision of the Air Force, which now replaces the public grain buyer (GASC) to negotiate imports of grain and strategic foodstuffs on the international market, revealed the Reuters agency based on government sources
This change is also a rupture which puts an end to more than fifty-five years of activities of the public buyer invested with the mission of trading on the international food market on behalf of the government. According to Cairo, this decision aims in particular to “ensure better management of the supply of imported wheat.”
Created in 2022, the Mostakbal Misr agency was initially focused on land development projects and the supply of wheat to the local market. As part of its new functions, the entity plans to use direct purchasing agreements in addition to international tenders to streamline food import operations.
For the government, the challenge will be to maintain the stability of food supplies with this sudden transition into an import system that has been in place for decades. Some operators are also wary of the irruption of the army, it is true, very present in the Egyptian economy: “the conditions of the GASC for transactions within the framework of international calls for tenders were developed over the many years. It is trusted and only when there is trust can large purchases be made with millions of dollars at stake. In the long term, the new organization will undoubtedly be able to make purchases. In the short term it may face difficulties,” a German trader told Reuters.
Egypt is a big market coveted by all wheat exporters. The country plans to import 12 million tonnes of wheat for the 2024/2025 campaign.
Par AJ.SEditorial Committee
Swiss
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