Wheat buy eases fears

Fears that the revolution in Egypt would disrupt the global wheat market were eased Monday when that nation made a large wheat buy.

Tom Mick, chief executive officer of the Washington Grain Alliance, said Tuesday the country bought 55,000 metric tons of U.S. soft white wheat along with wheat from Australia and Argentina.

“They need it, and they’re going to continue to buy,” said Mick. “We’re about the only supplier left that can meet their needs.”

Egypt brought in about 10 million metric tons of wheat last year. Included in that was more than 850,000 metric tons of soft white wheat from the Pacific Northwest, about 12 percent of the northwest crop.

Grain industry experts were concerned about the potential impacts political turmoil in the world’s largest wheat importer could wreak.

But Mick said the latest purchase order has eased some of those concerns.

“I think this shows what we really thought all along,” said Mick. “They’re going to continue to import wheat for their people regardless of who’s in charge.”

The big question now, said Mick, is how Egypt’s infrastructure is going to function - whether wheat brought into the country’s ports can be moved to cities and consumers in inland cities.