COMMODITIES-

State grain buyer GASC is set to launch its first-ever corn tender on 19 January to purchase supplies from international suppliers, according to a Supply Ministry statement. The tender will be financed by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the corn will be used for feed, the statement reads. How the grain will be distributed is unclear.

REMEMBER- While GASC assumes responsibility for wheat imports, feed grain stocks have typically been left to private firms. However, import restrictions amid the FX crunch have made it difficult for private players to bring feed into the country — with the supply constraints causing a rise in poultry prices in the local market. Egypt usually imports more than 1 mn metric tons of corn per month but bought just 924k tons in 4Q 2022, according to S&P Global. The requirement for importers to obtain letters of credit, which was partly to blame for the logjam at ports, was scrapped by the CBE at the beginning of January and the state has been working to get livestock feed released from ports.

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GASC has sold some 300k tons of wheat through the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX) since it launched at the end of November, Reuters reports, citing EMX chairman Ibrahim Ashmawy. The wheat was sourced mainly from Russia and partially from Germany, he said.

A lot of wheat has been coming in from Russia: The majority of our wheat imports (57%) reportedly came from Russia in 2022, up from 50% in 2021. That trend looks set to continue this year, after GASC reportedly booked at least 60k tons of Russian wheat last Tuesday, with another 60k tons set to follow.

The EMX: Launched in November, the exchange aims to protect local farmers and producers against price distortions and to regulate trading. Suppliers to GASC are obliged to register with the exchange.

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GASC plans to purchase less wheat from local farmers this year: The state will look to buy 4 mn tons of wheat this harvest season, which runs from April to August, Ahram Online reports Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy as saying. The government procured around 4.2 mn tons of wheat from local farmers during last year’s harvest, missing the ambitious 6 mn-ton target set after spiking food prices forced the state to increase its reliance on local production.

REMEMBER- The cabinet is tomorrow set to revise the state’s local wheat purchase price for this year in a bid to incentivize production, with Ala Masouleety’s Ahmed Moussa recently speculating that the price could rise to EGP 1.25K-1.35K per ardeb from the EGP 1k set previously for the 2023 season.

DEBT-

A syndicated loan for Qena industrial complex: An alliance comprising Emirati fertilizer company CFC Group’s Egyptian subsidiary CFC Feed and Chemicals and local fertilizer firm Evergrow is mulling three syndicated loan offers for its USD 400 mn industrial complex in Qena, Group CEO Ahmed Khalifa told Enterprise. A fourth offer is underway, Khalifa said, with the four bids set to be presented to the company’s board of directors meeting on 8 March.

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Real estate developer Inertia has signed an EGP 850 mn loan agreement with Banque Misr and Banque du Caire (BdC) to fund its flagship North Coast project Jefaira, Managing Director Ahmed El Adawy reportedly told Hapi Journal yesterday. Inertia has previously inked an EGP 575 mn loan agreement with BdC and an EGP 1.1 bn eight-year Islamic financing agreement with Banque Misr to fund the project.

NBFS-

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and Etisalat Egypt have established Erada Microfinance, in a move designed to improve access to finance for micro and small businesses, according to a joint statement yesterday. Erada Microfinance is a non-banking financial services (NFBS) company that aims to provide “innovative financial products” for the expansion of small businesses. The statement did not disclose the shareholder structure of the company.