Egypt buys the wheat dip: Egypt’s state-owned grains buyer has taken advantage of a dip in wheat prices to purchase what sources tell Agricensus could be the country’s largest-ever tender. GASC bought 600k tonnes of wheat on Monday, securing heavy discounts from traders as wheat futures fell, according to the website.

International prices have dipped this week on a strengthening USD and fears that the Omicron covid-19 variant could slow the global economy. Chicago wheat futures have fallen more than 8% since last Wednesday as investors pulled out of risk assets in anticipation of a covid-driven fall in demand.

Egypt has capitalized: Egypt agreed an average price of USD 352.37 per tonne FOB, and USD 378.33 (CFR) in Monday’s tender, securing discounts of up to USD 10.75 per tonne, according to Agricensus. GASC purchased 240k tonnes of Romanian wheat, 240k tonnes of Russian wheat and 120k tonnes of Ukrainian wheat.

This could be a record wheat purchase, overtaking a tender for 540k tonnes in 2008, which was thought to be the previous biggest tender.

Global wheat prices have soared this year, reaching a new 10-year high as a combination of poor weather, surging fertilizer prices and export tariffs squeeze supply. Egypt — the world’s biggest importer of wheat — is facing a steeper import bill as its international tenders deliver the steepest prices in at least five years. The government is preparing to start reducing bread subsidies to soften the impact on the state budget, and is looking to prevent further damage with hedging contracts.