News
16.06.2009
Egypt says Russian wheat at Damietta port treatable
Egypt's agricultural quarantine said on Monday it had quality concerns over two Russian wheat shipments examined at the Mediterranean port of Damietta, but that the wheat could be treated and released for distribution. "The two shipments had various problems including bugs and seeds, but they could be treated," Ali Soliman, head of the central administration of the agricultural quarantine authority, told Reuters.
Soliman said the two shipments will be treated by fumigation or sieving after a formal request is made by the importers. Egypt's state-owned al-Gomhuria newspaper said last week two shipments, one containing 51,000 tonnes and the other 30,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, were being re-examined after initial tests showed a level of bugs higher than specifications. "This is a routine inspection that we perform on all shipments and if we find a treatable problem then we treat it, and if it is untreatable we send the shipment back," Soliman said.
Wheat shipments from Russia, which has recently been a big supplier to Egypt, came under intense scrutiny in May after the prosecutor ordered a probe following the detection of dead bugs and impurities in some Russian wheat. Egypt's prosecutor is probing a document related to a Russian wheat cargo imported by private firm Egyptian Traders Co to determine their authenticity. The Egyptian firm says the document was valid.
Reuters
