Top Egyptian officials dismissed allegations of fraud after the country reported that it had purchased nearly five million metric tons of wheat from local farmers via its procurement season, according to Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today. The figure is the second highest on record and well above the 3.0 to 3.5 million metric tons farmers delivered annually over the past decade. Wheat millers and traders said the high figure was the result of private suppliers misreporting their stocks to collect government payments for highly subsidized domestic wheat. On Sunday, Egypt's Ministry of Supplies said it would punish domestic suppliers that misreported stocks. The government also said it will launch inspections of wheat silos this month to investigate the reports. If the accusations do have merit, the country may need to import more wheat, at a time when Egypt is rejecting cargoes based on what some traders call an unreasonable zero tolerance ergot policy. The international trade standard is 0.5 percent ergot contamination.
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