MED-Amin network

(Ahram Online) "As Egypt seeks to import more wheat to safeguard its strategic reserves, experts explain the economic forces governing the grain trade."

CAIRO, EGYPT — Egypt’s wheat ending stocks in marketing year 2023-24 are forecast to drop to their lowest level in 20 years as the country grapples with a smaller crop, increased demand and a shift in trade flows due to Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

Drought and other adverse climate conditions mean another poor year for cereal production in Morocco and could potentially pull the North African country’s economic growth below projections, the World Bank has warned.

Olive oil mill owners want the same energy subsidies given to bakers and bread manufacturers to cover the cost of rising energy bills.

The state looked to local farmers for nearly double what they would in other years.

When Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine in February, the Egyptian government perceived an immediate danger to about two-thirds of its population. 

DUBAI: When Russian tanks trundled into Ukraine on Feb. 24, alarm bells started ringing in places even far away from the war zone. It transpired that many countries depended heavily on the two warring parties for their wheat supplies, with Arab states of the Middle East and North Africa region figuring prominently on the list. Which is partly why, for the governments of Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Sudan, as well as international aid agencies, the conflict has felt much closer to home than the geographical distance suggests.

Bakeries, brewers and milk producers are expecting the increase in the price of grains triggered by the Ukraine war to drive their costs higher with many saying they plan to absorb the blow for as long as financially feasible.
On Tuesday, Times of Malta reported how Malta’s biggest importer of grains, Federated Mills, warned of the possibility that other countries will start to restrict exports of grains and called for a national strategy on the importation of wheat.
While the problem is not imminent, it may affect the supply of products on the local market in the long run.

(Turkish Agri.News) "Mediterranean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters' Association (AHBİB), which supports Türkiye's exports of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and products worth 12.4 billion dollars in 2023 with a value of 2.1 billion dollars, awarded 27 members who gave the strongest support to this performance."

"Tunisia’s state-owned Office of Cereals has offered Russian grain companies a potential purchase agreement in hopes to secure regular grain shipments at a fixed price range, Russian state agricultural export agency Agroexport said on Thursday."

After Russia said on Monday it would end the Black Sea Grain Initiative – a deal to provide safe export routes for about 20 per cent of the world’s grain – governments have been trying to assess the impact on world hunger.
Ukraine, sometimes called the breadbasket of Europe, is a major producer of sunflower oil, wheat and maize, but when Russia invaded in February 2022, turning much of the agriculturally rich east of the country into a warzone, wheat prices were hit hardest amid a general surge in global food prices.

CIHEAM Countries are working together to find joint solutions to strengthen the resilience of their agricultural systems and food security undermined by the invasion of Ukraine. Marked by the current crisis in grains and input markets, the 9th MED-Amin meeting took place on 22 and 23 November 2022 in CIHEAM Zaragoza (Spain) to address current and future challenges to food security in the region.

Turkey next week will host Russian, Ukrainian and UN officials for talks aimed at resuming stalled grain exports across the Black Sea, local media reported Tuesday.
The meeting in Istanbul would be preceded by a visit to Moscow by a Turkish defence delegation this week, NTV television and CNN Turk cited Turkish presidential sources as saying.

The European Commission has approved a €30 million Malta government scheme to support companies in the importation, wholesale and manufacture of grain products impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
The scheme, ‘MDB Subsidised Loan Scheme’, was approved under the State aid Temporar

Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued a decree suspending the export of gravel and mixed beans, lentils, wheat, flour of all kinds, and pasta for three months from 11 March, according to a copy of the document obtained by the Masrawy news portal.