CAIRO, EGYPT — Egypt will source nearly 500,000 tonnes of wheat from France and Bulgaria after a deal with Russia was blocked by the Russian government over objections to the pricing, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

It is the second time in recent months that the purchase of Russian wheat by the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Egypt’s state-run grain buyer, has been thrown into turmoil as authorities in Moscow try to enforce an unofficial price floor for its bumper crop.

GASC agreed to buy 480,000 tonnes of Russian wheat in direct negotiations, Supply Minister Ali El-Mosilhy said earlier this month. That deal was booked at $270 a tonne, including freight, which is lower than the unofficial price floor Russian officials were trying to implement at the time. Days later, Egypt said that crop trader Solaris would be allowed the option to supply grain from any origin.

Russia is forecast to produce 92 million tonnes of wheat and export 46 million tonnes for the 2022-23 marketing year, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for September.

While Russia’s second bumper wheat crop has helped make it the dominant world supplier, the glut also has put downward pressure on prices, prompting government efforts to prop up the market.