Egypt’s GASC pays $15/mt less on year as it books first new crop

Egypt's state buyer GASC booked 120,000 mt of wheat volumes from Black Sea origin for July delivery, paying $14.98/mt less for the first batch of this year’s new crop compared with its first new crop tender in 2018, market sources have told Agricensus.

GASC returned to the market for milling wheat after a two-month absence to buy a Russian cargo at $209.6/mt CFR Egypt from Aston, and a second cargo of Romanian origin from Cofco at a price of $209.11/mt.

Both cargoes are for delivery between July 11-21.

At a similar time last year, the state buyer booked double the wheat volume – also sourced from Russia and Romania – and paid an average price of $224.33/mt as weather worries across the Black Sea and Europe propelled wheat prices.

In its previous tender this year in April, GASC booked 240,000 mt of Romanian and Ukrainian wheat at an average price of $239.98/mt CFR for May 20-June 5 delivery.

The tender comes after Egypt announced it has strategic wheat stocks of at least five months and ahead of the publication of the USDA's monthly agricultural forecast, which can trigger price volatility.