Mostakbal Misr reportedly struck private deals in April to directly purchase 180k tons of French wheat from two top European traders — marking one of its first successful attempts to bypass local intermediaries and secure imports for the country’s bread subsidy program, two trading sources told the Reuters.

The newswire thinks this could be a sign that global suppliers are getting more comfortable with dealing with the new agency, which took over the General Authority for Supply Commodities’ long-held role as the agency in charge of importing commodities back in early 2024. Traders had reportedly hesitated to engage with the new agency due to its limited track record and lack of standard documentation.