Egypt blocked the entry of a French wheat shipment on Thursday due to a violation of both the Egyptian and the Codex standard specifications, said Agriculture and Land Reclamation Minister Essam Fayed.
Fayed said that the French shipment is the second to be declined for failing to meet specifications since he came to office.
The ministry denied the entry of the shipment because it contained a high percentage of the ergot fungus, in violation of the Egyptian and Codex standard specifications, which only allow 0.05 percent of the ergot fungus in wheat shipments, according to Fayed.
He made the statements on Wednesday on the sidelines of the inauguration of Fruit Logistica, a German fresh-produce trade show held in Berlin.
Egypt denied the entry of another wheat shipment on Monday for the same reason.
Supply and Internal Trade Minister Khaled Hanafi announced in January that Egypt's strategic reserve of wheat will cover the country's needs until early May 2016, adding that a recent tender had been contracted for approximately 235,000 tons of Russian, French and Romanian wheat.
The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) imports wheat through global commodity exchanges in accordance with the Egyptian standard specification No. 1601 for the year 2005. This standard complies with the international standards of the Codex No. 199 for the year 1995 and the ISO international standards No.7970 for the year 2000.
Egypt imports wheat from several countries, including France, Russia, Romania, Canada, Argentina, the United States, Canada and the Ukraine.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
