Russian cos to build modern granary in Egypt for up to 8 mln t - minister
CAIRO. Feb 11 (Interfax) - Russian companies plan to build a modern grain storage facility in Egypt with capacity of 7 million-8 million tonnes that could become an international center for grain shipments.
"We are coming to decisions on grain that are of a more long-term and secure nature for Egypt," Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov told reporters in Cairo on Tuesday, adding that this refers to Russian companies' involvement in the construction of a modern granary at an Egyptian port.
This issue is now being discussed. "We have made a request for the parameters of this project. This is a very modern grain storage facility with storage capacity of up to 7 million-7 million tonnes of grain" Fyodorov said.
Furthermore, the granary could be turned into an interregional center, he said. "This can be discussed. We have parties who are interested in this project," Fyodorov said.
He also said that Russia's imposition of an export duty on wheat has not yet had an impact on shipments of the grain to Egypt. "We're monitoring the situation for now. The export duty is not noticeably affecting exports of wheat and grain crops," Fyodorov said.
The minister said that Russia almost doubled wheat exports to Egypt to more than 4 million tonnes in 2014. This amounts to more than 40% of Egypt's wheat imports.
"And they're asking for as much as possible and already bought 500,000 tonnes of wheat in January," Fyodorov said.
The minister said that issues related to grain exports were discussed during President Vladimir Putin's visit to Egypt.