Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Egypt’s return to wheat trading on its commodity exchange is a small but significant change in how the country manages one of its most important food imports. The first session moved 6,715 tonnes of imported wheat, worth 111.8 million Egyptian pounds, offering mills a new route to buy grain after nearly three years without strategic-wheat trading on the platform.
The restart comes at a difficult moment for the market. Egypt has recently faced a sharp slowdown in wheat imports, rising international prices and a pause in government purchases from abroad. Reopening exchange trading may help mills find supplies more regularly, but it does not by itself replace imports or guarantee that enough grain will be available at affordable prices.
Twenty-one companies participated in the first session, according to exchange chief executive Zakaria Hamza. The rules allowed each company to buy between 50 and 500 tonnes. The transaction totals imply an average price of about 16,650 pounds per tonne. The exchange expects to hold one or two wheat sessions each week, depending on supply and demand, and plans to add sugar before year’s end.
Those arrangements suggest a gradual restart rather than an immediate return to large-scale trading. The volume sold was below an earlier reported plan for an initial offer of 10,000 tonnes. The difference between the proposed amount and the completed sales underlines that actual activity will depend on the quantities offered, the terms of sale and the appetite of participating mills.
The platform’s practical value will be measured by whether buyers return and whether supplies are available on a reliable schedule. Regular sessions could make it easier for mills to locate grain and give market participants a clearer view of prices. But an exchange cannot resolve shortages if sellers do not offer enough wheat, or if buyers find the price or conditions unattractive.
Egypt’s dependence on imported wheat makes those questions consequential. The country uses both imported and domestically produced grain to supply a large food market, including its subsidized bread system. Russia and Ukraine have together accounted for a substantial share of Egypt’s imports, leaving supply exposed to disruptions in the Black Sea region, changes in export flows and higher shipping risks.
The import figures point to a sharp change in recent months, although the reported totals refer to different periods. Data cited in Egyptian reporting showed imports rising during the first half of 2026, then falling markedly in the third quarter. Government buyers reportedly stopped purchasing foreign wheat in May, leaving private companies to bring in grain during the intervening period. Separate reporting also described a steep year-on-year decline in September arrivals and no state wheat shipments that month.
The timing of the government’s pause matters. Egypt had built up purchases earlier in the year as a precaution against possible supply disruption. But when state buying stopped, private importers became more important to the flow of grain. A resumed exchange could provide mills with an additional purchasing channel, although the first session alone cannot show whether it will make up for the lost government procurement.
Price pressure is another concern. Grain traders have attributed rising international wheat costs to the war between Russia and Ukraine and increased risks to vessels crossing the Black Sea. If import prices remain high, domestic buyers may face pressure even when wheat is available. Local harvests can ease that exposure, but only to a degree: the government collected about five million tonnes of domestic wheat this year, while Egypt’s overall needs remain substantial.
The return of wheat to the exchange also marks a shift in the government’s approach to commodity-market infrastructure. The Egyptian Mercantile Exchange was established to create a more organized venue for trading goods, with prices shaped by supply and demand. In practice, its impact depends on whether enough sellers and buyers use it to produce regular, meaningful transactions.
The exchange last handled strategic commodities such as wheat, sugar, yellow corn and soybeans in late 2023. Since then, its activity has been limited, with more recent trading focused on wheat bran. The renewed wheat sessions therefore represent a test of whether the platform can move beyond occasional transactions and become part of the routine supply chain.
The coming weeks will offer a clearer measure of the restart’s reach. If sessions recur and attract a broad pool of buyers, the exchange could improve visibility around available quantities and prices. If volumes remain limited, its effect on mill supply will be modest.
For Egypt, the central challenge remains securing enough wheat at manageable cost. The exchange can help organize buying, but the outcome will ultimately depend on import flows, government procurement, domestic harvests and the volatile international market.
