Egypt Fungus-Wheat Ban Fuels Confusion, Higher-Price Concern
- Fresh decree prolongs regulatory muddle in months-long dispute
- Egypt’s flip-flopping on wheat rules hampering shipments
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Egypt will no longer accept imported wheat containing any traces of the ergot fungus, the Agriculture Ministry said, sowing fresh regulatory confusion that has hampered shipments to the world’s biggest buyer of the grain.
The new ruling runs counter to a less restrictive policy by the Supply Ministry allowing for shipments containing as much as 0.05 percent ergot levels. Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed announced the decree in an e-mailed statement issued in coordination with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, the head of the ministry’s agriculture services department, Ahmed Abou El-Yazid, said Sunday at a news conference in Cairo. Ergot is a naturally occurring fungus that can be toxic in high quantities.