(Bloomberg) — Egypt’s state buyer bought less than a tenth of the wheat it had targeted in a bumper tender, highlighting the challenges of securing big supplies months in advance.
The country’s General Authority for Supply Commodities bought 280,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine and Bulgaria for October and November delivery in a tender that closed Monday, the state buyer said. It had been looking to buy as much as 3.8 million tons of wheat for delivery ranging from October to April.
The tender for such large volumes over a much longer period than usual had marked a new approach for the world’s top wheat buyer, and followed a recent cabinet overhaul aimed at controlling inflation and amid rising tensions in the region. Although inflation has retreated from a record last year, it’s still over 25% and piling pain on consumers.
Egyptian officials raised the price of subsidized bread for the first time in decades in May, as part of a push to cut spending.
In the end GASC only bought five cargoes for October and November delivery at between $259.24 to $269.25 a ton, including freight.
Of the 15 traders participating in the tender, Olam International Ltd. and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. were the only two to offer cargoes for delivery in April 2025. Three traders — Cargill Inc., Viterra Inc. and Olam — offered cargoes as late as March 2025, with most offers coming for delivery in October, November and December.
CROP TENDER: Egypt’s GASC Gets Wheat Offers
North Africa’s biggest economy usually tenders for wheat supplies one to two months in advance and buys less than a million tons each time. It also doesn’t normally specify the volume it’s expecting to buy in advance.
Wheat futures have been trending lower as bumper crops in the US keep markets well supplied despite smaller harvests in Russia and France.
Wheat futures traded in Chicago for September delivery were trading down 1.2% as of 9.40 pm London time, with the news of the tender showing no impact.
(Updates with details on results throughout)
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