The United Grain Company, Russia’s new state trader, will supply wheat to Egypt, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday in a fresh sign that the countries’ grain trade may be returning to an even keel after a dispute earlier this year.
The ministry statement did not give details of shipment plans but said their possibility was discussed at a meeting between Minister Yelena Skrynnik, who is also the UGC’s board chairwoman, and Egyptian Ambassador Ezzat Saad el-Sayed.
The UGC, created by President Dmitry Medvedev in March, absorbed the state-owned Food Market Regulation Agency, the agent for government grain intervention purchases and sales.
Egypt, a top buyer of wheat, and Russia, its major supplier, had a dispute that started in mid-May, when Egypt ordered a probe after dead bugs and impurities were found in a shipment.
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