Egypt retests US wheat cargo for excess seeds
Written by Egypt News   
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Egyptian agricultural Minister Amin Abaza
Egypt's agricultural Minister Amin Abaza 

The Egyptian agricultural quarantine authority reported that Egypt is testing a second sample from a 63,000-tonne U.S. wheat shipment after quarantine officials found an excessive amount of seeds per kilogram on first inspection

On Wednesday, Cairo-based trade sources said that "The shipment is expected to be sieved for treatment after the results of the sampling come out."

"The shipment will be sieved after the sampling is conducted and then it will be released, which is a routine procedure and nothing outside of the normal," the trade source said.

Egypt only accepts wheat shipments that contain no more than 20 seeds per kilogram but the shipment was found to contain 996 seeds/kg, sources said.

The shipment was purchased by the state wheat buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) and arrived at the Mediterranean port of Damietta in mid-October.

GASC routinely asks the quarantine authority to treat shipments by sieving or fumigation if they are found to contain excessive amounts of seeds or insects.

The final release order is then issued when the cargo is re-examined after treatment. The quarantine authority released a 63,000-tonne French wheat cargo after sieving in mid-October.
That cargo had an excessive amount of seeds at 44 seeds/kg and was sieved at the Red Sea port of Safaga.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, has been mired in controversy over the quality of its wheat imports since it ordered the re-export earlier this year of Russian cargoes that it said did not abide by Egyptian quality specifications.

 

 

 

 

EGYPT NEWS

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