The private Egyptian grain trading company Medsofts plans to re-export 31 thsd tonnes of Russian wheat, after the Egyptian quarantine authorities rejected to unload the shipload contracted in July 2016, due to detection of the ergot fungus traces, reported Reuters on September 9.
According to the announcement, the wheat shipload arrived to the Egyptian port of Damietta in July 2016, Medsofts was unable to get clearance from the quarantine authorities to unload the vessel, said the sales manager, Mohamed Bakr.
"There's going to be a deficit in wheat as a result of the controls and policies taken by the government and quarantine," M.Bakr said. The high costs of keeping the shipload in the port prompted Medsofts to re-export the wheat volumes.
Also, many traders who have concluded the contracts with Egypt for wheat shipments before the current return to the zero ergot standard, reported about heightened inspection measures at the ports of origin in recent weeks, which included re-inspecting and replacing wheat suspected of containing even single grains infected with ergot.
