Egypt explores alternative wheat sources amid Ukraine crisis
Egypt is seeking to secure wheat from alternative sources amid an escalated Ukrainian crisis that warns of global shortages.
CAIRO — The Ukraine crisis is casting a shadow across the world and many countries are increasingly concerned for their wheat imports. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, has started to search for alternatives to Russian and Ukrainian wheat.
Government spokesperson Nader Saad told Mehwar TV by phone on Feb. 26 that Egypt could import wheat from 14 countries, some of which are outside Europe, and that Egypt has a strategic reserve of some five million tons of wheat in addition to its own domestic wheat production.
Wheat-consuming countries fear a global supply shortage in the coming weeks due to Ukraine suspending grain shipments following the outbreak of the war. There are also the impact of the military operations on Russia's ports and a number of Russian banks' exclusion from the SWIFT system to consider.
Russia and Ukraine account for roughly 29% of the global wheat export market.
