GASC secures huge wheat buy: State grain buyer GASC secured 3.12 mn metric tons of wheat to be supplied monthly between November and April, two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter tell Reuters. The purchase — one of GASC’s largest — will see a monthly 510k metric tons of wheat sourced from the Black Sea region.

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The details are fuzzy: The wheat will reportedly be supplied by a JV between an Egyptian company and a major global supplier. The price for each month’s supply will be assessed based on market price for the month, one source told the newswire.

Remember: The government has been looking to capitalize on a global dip in prices in efforts to bolster strategic wheat reserves amid geopolitical tension. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi reportedly personally ordered GASC’s biggest ever tender in August after he received an intelligence briefing that raised concerns over our food security. The massive tender fell short of its target, with GASC purchasing 280k tons of the 3.8 mn tons it aimed to buy.

Question marks remain: According to Reuters, traders have expressed doubts that the order will be fulfilled, with one person “saying that it could be conditional on whether the company will be able to fulfill its October shipment” — GASC purchased 430k tons of Russian wheat in September for delivery this month.

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