Egypt eyes global grain hub as it deepens wheat ties with Russia

MOSCOW – Egypt, the biggest buyer of Russian wheat, aims to create a global grain trading ‌and storage hub, Supply Minister Sherif Farouk said on Friday, speaking at a grains event in the Russian city of Sochi.

Faruk said that Egypt is pursuing an ambitious ⁠and comprehensive strategy to transform the country into a hub for the storage and processing of grain crops as well as trading grain throughout the Middle East, Africa and other regions.

"In this context, Egypt now wants to establish a global hub for grains," Farouk said, adding ‌that ⁠the project will include modern elevators, transport systems, and processing and storage facilities.

He said that Egyptian and Russian commodity exchanges could join forces in ⁠modernisation of Egypt's grain trading infrastructure, developing pricing benchmarks, and ensuring supply chain's transparency.

"Egypt will continue to strengthen ⁠its relationship with Russia in developing grain tracking systems. All these efforts will help ⁠us improve transparency and resilience in the strategic commodity market," Farouk said.