Russia's new partner. Egypt is betting on their grain

Egypt has become the leader in purchasing Russian grain, reports the Russian newspaper "Kommersant". This country has imported 2.24 million tons of grain from the beginning of July to September 2023, which is 9.1 percent more than the previous year - according to the Grain Exporters Association.

This means that Egypt itself took first place in terms of purchases of Russian grain in the first quarter. Within just three months, Russia exported about 20.02 million short tons (18.18 mln metric tons) of grain, which is about 61 percent more than in the previous season (approximately 12.35 million short tons or 11.2 mln metric tons).

"Egypt took first place in terms of the size of purchases of Russian grain in the first quarter of 2023/24. The strong position of Russian exporters at GASC tenders stimulated private purchases" - the union reported on the Telegram service, according to "Kommiersant".

During the period from July to September 2022, Iran was the top importer of Russian grains, but in the same period this year, it has dropped to third place. Saudi Arabia is in fourth place, and Libya rounds out the top five importers.

"On September 21, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Egypt had decided to purchase wheat from France and Bulgaria after a Russian attempt to set an unofficial price floor effectively blocked supplies of Russian grain. On September 23, Egyptian authorities denied this information and stated that they had no intention of refusing to purchase Russian wheat," we read in "Kommiersant" daily newspaper.