Confusion over the red and pink types of the poppy flower were behind the holdups regarding the poppy-containing wheat shipments, the French embassy has suggested, according to Bloomberg. “Red poppies, or papaver rhoeas, can grow in fields of grain crops where their life cycle matches management of the land, according to the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. The pink flower, papaver somniferum, can be cultivated for opium. The seeds of the red type aren’t toxic, the French embassy said in a letter to Egypt’s import and export authority.” A senior analyst at Eurasia Group says the timing of the dispute is not good for Egypt as “creating a bottleneck, creating these sort of problems in the supply of food to the population could actually have a disruptive impact.” Egyptian authorities had agreed last week to sieve the shipments before deciding whether to reject them or not. Reuters is noting that the shipments continue to be under the custody of the Prosecutor General as of Saturday.
More from Enterprise
Our friends at EFG Hermes and Beltone pick up fresh accolades, along with CIB
EFG Hermes retained the top corporate access spot on Extel’s…
Granite is about to test whether Egypt’s funds still need administrators
The asset manager and blockchain builder Tarmiiz have entered the…
Inside the retail wave reshaping EGX
Individuals are setting EGX prices day to day, trading on…
Egyptian-UK fintech Zeal raises USD 10 mn to back expansion plans
The London-based, Egyptian-founded fintech is preparing to activate its loyalty…