Egypt court permits wheat with trace levels of ergot

Egypt’s top administrative court has ruled that the country should accept wheat with marginal levels of the common grain fungus ergot, local newspapers said on Sunday, freezing a lower court order to ban the fungus entirely which had vexed traders.
Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, baffled grains markets when it began imposing a zero tolerance level on ergot in 2016, prompting suppliers to boycott state tenders until the country re-instated a tolerance of up to 0.05 percent ergot in cargoes, a common international standard.

The total fungus ban was lifted, only for a lower administrative court to reinstate it, citing health concerns.

That ban was never adopted at Egypt’s ports, as the government appealed the decision and said it would continue to permit up to 0.05 percent in cargoes during the appeal process.