Egypt withdraws from UN grain treaty due to lack of benefits

Egypt announced on Saturday its withdrawal from the United Nations Grains Trade Convention (GTC) since it had not received the desired benefits from the agreement due to the ongoing war.

Ali Moselhy, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, said that the treaty has a goal of providing countries with necessary supply of grains and to maintain a balance for consumers and producers.

However, he also added that the agreement did not fulfil its objectives during the Russian war on Ukraine. According to MENA, Moselhy made these statements during the Ahlan Ramadan fair.

The fair is held across the country to offer food and consumer goods at discounted prices before the holy month of Ramadan.

Egypt notified the UN Secretary General of its decision in February and the decision is to be effective by the 30th of June.

This treaty is the only international treaty that covers grain trade, as Egypt has been a member of the convention since its establishment in 1995.

During the war, as well as the 2008 financial crisis, the convention did not intervene to achieve its objectives of a balanced market. According to Moselhy wheat prices have increased to be from $150 to $520 per ton.

He said that Egypt’s role in the convention now is to collect requests and share information, which is now superfluous since collecting and sharing information is now made easy by the technological developments.