• The state buyer Mostakbal Misr ordered 500,000 tons of wheat from Black Sea suppliers.
• Shipments from Russia, Bulgaria, and Ukraine are expected between December and January.
• Egypt may import over 13 million tons of wheat in 2025/2026, a record high.

Egypt’s state grain buyer Mostakbal Misr has placed an order for 500,000 tons of wheat from the Black Sea region. According to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources close to the matter, the shipment is scheduled for delivery between December and January and will include 200,000 tons from Russia, 150,000 tons from Bulgaria, and over 130,000 tons from Ukraine.

The economic news agency reported that the state-owned company, which replaced the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) last December, is also in talks to finalize another deal for 500,000 tons of wheat by December.

These new developments confirm the recent momentum in Egypt’s wheat procurement and align with projections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In its latest update published in August, the USDA said Egypt could surpass 13 million tons of wheat imports for the first time by the end of the 2025/2026 season, setting a new record mainly benefiting Black Sea suppliers amid rising food subsidy costs.

The value of food subsidies has more than tripled over the past decade, reaching 160 billion Egyptian pounds in the 2025/2026 draft budget, compared with 39.4 billion pounds in the 2014/2015 fiscal year.

The number of beneficiaries of subsidized bread has reached 69 million, with the Egyptian government covering over 85% of the production cost of the staple food.