Can China be Egypt’s wheat provider of last resort?

Bread prices continue to get attention in the foreign press this morning: In a Bloomberg opinion piece, David Fickling suggests that China may be able to step in and fill the Ukraine / Russia-shaped hole in Egypt’s wheat supply. Beijing has amassed half of the world’s wheat reserves, enough to keep its country of 1.4 bn people fed for 18 months. This makes it easy for Beijing to assume the role of grain provider of last resort and bail Egypt out of its supply crisis.

Human rights are back in the news after Amnesty International criticized Egyptian authorities for their reaction to videos allegedly showing police abuse.