CAIRO, EGYPT — Egypt is in negotiations to purchase 1 million tonnes of wheat from the Russian government, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 27, citing unnamed sources.

Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat importers and Russia is the world’s top exporter, a position it has strengthened with back-to-back bumper harvests and by reducing exports from Ukraine after invading that country 20 months ago.

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.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Egypt planned to 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.

It was 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, was thrown into turmoil as authorities in Moscow tried to enforce an unofficial price floor for its bumper crop.

Bloomberg said the Russian government did not respond to a request for comment and the GASC declined to comment on the situation.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year disrupted global wheat markets, a shift toward direct purchases, instead of tenders, has helped Egypt negotiate better prices.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, traditionally two of Egypt’s largest wheat suppliers, has caused price volatility and shifted global trade patterns. Prior to the war, Egypt received 60% of its imports from Russia and 22% from Ukraine, according to a recent report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

Egypt’s wheat imports from Ukraine in 2022 fell by 73%, the FAS said.

In the same report, the FAS forecast Egypt’s wheat imports for the current marketing year (2023-24) to reach 10.8 million tonnes, about 3% higher than the previous year’s 10.15 million tonnes, which was the second lowest total in the past 10 years. The FAS said the decline in imports was attributed to the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, which generated an ongoing foreign currency challenge, causing disruptions for Egypt’s wheat trade.

The war has forced Egypt to expand its number of wheat suppliers. Earlier this year, the GASC bought 500,000 tonnes of wheat from India, and last month the Egyptian government signed a $500 million deal with a private company, Al Dhara, from the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Abu Dhabi Exports Office, for a five-year supply of wheat.