Egypt refuses 55,000 tons of Indian wheat – official

Egypt barred the entry of a ship carrying 55,000 tons of Indian wheat after confirming that doesn’t comply with the requirements of the Egyptian agricultural quarantine, plant quarantine head Ahmed El Attar said on Saturday.

The shipment originally intended for Turkey, as the Turkish quarantine authorities rejected the arrival of the vessel, El Attar added. He assured that Egypt does not accept any shipment rejected by another country.

El Attar denied the rumors that Egypt has eased the requirements of plant quarantine due to the wheat crisis, adding “this is completely untrue.”

Egypt didn’t reduce its quarantine requirements which the Egyptian quarantine requirements are among the most difficult and precise requirements in the world, El Attar pointed out.

Egypt has procured 3.5 million tons of local wheat during the harvest season so far, a senior official in the ministry of agriculture told Reuters on Saturday.