Yahoo Finance Delayed Wheat Ship Left Russian Port After Egypt’s Request
(Bloomberg) -- Egypt’s Foreign Ministry stepped in after a spat between Russia’s agriculture regulator and a key grain trader held up two ships carrying wheat, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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One of the vessels was allowed to sail toward Egypt’s ports on Friday after the foreign ministry in Cairo, concerned about supply shocks in the local market, reached out to its Russian counterparts, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive information.
The ships, carrying cargoes from an export partner of top Russian trader TD Rif, were not permitted to sail because local authorities said they lacked the necessary paperwork, Bloomberg earlier reported. Last month, the company had said its exports were being blocked and that it’s under pressure to sell its assets for a “negligible price.”
Read more: Russia Targets Top Wheat Trader With Plan to Curb Exports
The dispute is the latest signal of how the Kremlin is moving to take more control of exports since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It also highlights how a domestic dispute in the top wheat exporter could hinder grain deliveries abroad.
Egypt is a major wheat buyer and the vessels, Wadi Almolouk and Wadi Safaga, were meant to have left by the end of March.
Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian agricultural agency, said it does not detain vessels and its mandate is only to check grain shipments for the “quarantine phytosanitary requirements of the destination country.” Earlier, the watchdog had said it’s stopping some exports by RIF because of “systematic inconsistencies” in grain safety and quality.
The Wadi Safaga was issued a phytosanitary certificate on April 4 after Egypt’s state buyer said it was willing to accept the cargo, Rosselkhoznadzor said on Friday. Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg appeared to show the ship in the Bosphorus near Istanbul.
The Russian foreign ministry, the trading companies and the Egyptian procurement agency did not respond to emails seeking comment.
--With assistance from Michael Gunn.
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