GASC issues first international rice tender

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) held Egypt’s first international rice tender on Thursday, with a request for 25,000 tonnes of short or medium grain milled white rice, Reuters reports. The tender closes on 12 November, with delivery dates in January and February. “Every supplier should submit four samples, each two kilograms, of their rice alongside their offer for testing,” GASC Vice Chairman Ahmed Youssef said. One of the samples will be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for a cooking test to determine “how suitable the rice is for our consumers’ taste.” This is Egypt’s first tender since enacting regulations to limit domestic production to conserve water.