We’re getting our first shipment of Indian wheat soon: Around 55k tonnes of Indian wheat will be loaded from India’s Kandla Port for shipment to Egypt on Friday, Argus Media reports, citing line-up data. No details were given on the price paid in the private-sector purchase, which comes less than two weeks after Egypt added India to its list of wheat suppliers.

Indian wheat costs less than European grain — but it’s more expensive to ship: While Indian wheat currently trades at around two-thirds the price of the latest shipments Egypt’s state grains buyer secured from France, Russia and Bulgaria, freight costs stand at around double those for Black Sea supplies, one trader told Reuters. The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) purchased Russian wheat at USD 460 per ton including freight, USD 20 lower than Bulgaria’s offer and USD 34.25 down from the price of French wheat, according to Argus Media.

BACKGROUND- The Madbouly government has been working on diversifying wheat imports amid a squeeze on prices in recent months and has stepped up its efforts since Russia’s war in Ukraine sent prices soaring yet higher and cut off Ukrainian shipments. We usually source north of 80% of our imported grain from the two Black Sea countries. India is making moves to fill the gap in global wheat supply, with its grain exports estimated to have hit a record 8.5 mn tonnes in the marketing year that ended in March, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

RUSSIAN WHEAT BUCKS THE WAR-

Russian wheat exports are set to almost quadruple in April despite disruption caused by its war in Ukraine, according to Argus Media, citing line-up and global trade data. The country is on track to export nearly 3.2 mn tonnes of wheat, nearly four times last April’s exports of 801k tonnes.

This is the second consecutive month during which Russia saw year-on-year rises in exports: Russia boosted wheat exports by 60% in March, exporting some 1.7 mn tonnes with shipments running at a “rapid” rate in the second half of the month after an initial slowdown in February, as most challenges with payments and shipping vessels were resolved.