UPDATE 1-Egypt’s Mostakbal Misr reportedly makes no wheat, vegoil purchase– sources

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CAIRO, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Mostakbal Misr Agency for Sustainable Development is believed to have made no purchases in its wheat and vegetable oil procurement inquiry on Thursday, sources said.

Traders said they had not heard of any price offers submitted, with companies seeking more information about purchasing and payment terms from the agency.

But there were reports that several trading houses took part in a meeting at the Mostakbal Misr offices.

No new deadline has been announced, and traders are awaiting further guidance from Mostakbal Misr.

The agency had initially invited offers by noon local time (10 a.m. GMT) on Nov. 28, following a late Wednesday announcement seeking bids for wheat and vegetable oils in direct purchase agreements to be negotiated on Thursday rather than by formal offers submitted in an international tender.

The announcement signals a shift in procurement strategy, potentially replacing the system of international tenders used by the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Egypt’s primary state buyer of essential commodities.

Some traders attributed the pivot to direct purchases as a response to Russia’s unofficial minimum export price policy, which has reportedly deterred exporters from offering competitive prices in public tenders. A European trader suggested that direct deals might help Egypt secure lower prices.

However, Russian exporters remain hesitant. Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters said Thursday that it is unfamiliar with Mostakbal Misr’s ownership and financial position, and several Russian suppliers have stated they will not engage without confirmation that the agency is acting on behalf of the Egyptian government.

“It looks like they were trying to do things too quickly. The trading houses really do not know who the agency is,” a trader said.

“The devil is in the detail in grain deals with millions of dollars at stake. Even minor changes in specification rules by GASC in the past have caused huge delays in ship unloadings and painful losses of money by the sellers,” he added.

“The risk can be too high if you are not sure of every detail in the contracts and execution.”

Mostakbal Misr was founded in 2022 through a presidential decree and evolved from land reclamation projects dating back to 2017.

Mostakbal Misr Agency, GASC, and the Supply Ministry have not responded to repeated Reuters requests to comment.

(Reporting by Mohamed Ezz and Michael Hogan; editing by David Evans)

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