Egypt's GASC strikes deal on direct monthly wheat supplies
Egypt's state grains buyer has struck one of its largest ever direct wheat deals for monthly supplies from November to April, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The wheat will be shipped to the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) with around 510,000 metric tons to be supplied every month sourced from Black Sea origins, and totalling up to 3.12 million tons over the period, one of the sources said.
Egypt is one of the world's biggest wheat importers and uses the purchases to make heavily subsidised bread, a politically sensitive benefit available to tens of millions of people.
The state buyer usually buys the strategic commodity through transparent international tenders that move the global grains market.
It has opted to buy wheat privately through direct deals in recent years to garner more competitive prices, with this newest deal marking its largest ever agreement.