Egypt could face a second wave of tender boycotts due to concerns over poppy seed presence in wheat shipments

“Egypt risks facing tender boycotts for a second season” after it stopped a French shipment earlier this week claiming it contains poppy seeds, Bloomberg says. The case is being referred to prosecution, even though the French embassy in Cairo confirmed the cargo met Egyptian specifications. “The new holdups are reviving concerns over which government body is responsible for inspecting cargoes in Egypt,” the news website says. Egypt had sent home two shipments of Romanian wheat last month for the same reason. We had said yesterday that some traders suggested that the agriculture quarantine body stopping shipments in order to pressure the government to allow their employees to travel for inspections at the port of origin again.