Egypt To Return Russian Wheat Cargo

The dispute between Egypt and Russia over wheat branded "unfit for human consumption" appeared to have all been sorted out last week after the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Rashid Mohammad Rashid, told reporters that there are no problems between the two countries with regards to wheat supply.

"I would like to make it clear that there are no problems connected with the deliveries of wheat between our two countries. There are problems only inside Egypt. They concern matters related to the conclusion of contracts and to monitoring," he was quoted as saying.

It would seem that there are indeed problems inside Egypt, so much so that one of the suspect cargoes brought into the Red Sea port of Safaga is to be sent back to Russia, with demands that the $9.6 million that GASC paid an un-named Egyptian trading house for the 52,500 MT cargo to be refunded immediately.

That presents somebody with a rather interesting problem does it not? I don't see the Russians rushing to take it back & offer a full refund. Indeed Rashid's comments suggest that the Russians might have shipped exactly what was bought.

It seems that a second Russian consignment is still being held in Safaga, along with 11,000 tonnes of Ukraine and Australian wheat near the Mediterranean port of Alexandria.