HAMBURG/DUBAI: Egypt's state commodities buyer GASC is in talks to buy 30 cargoes or up to 1.8 million metric tons of wheat from sellers including Russia, traders in Europe and the Middle East said.

The talks come after one of the world's top wheat importers failed to buy supplies from October 2024 to April 2025 in one go on Monday through its biggest ever tender. Egypt had sought to lock in relatively low wheat prices with the giant tender, but only accepted offers for less than a tenth of what it needs.

The talks for direct supplies would amount to just under half of the 3.8 million tonnes that GASC sought to buy in the tender.

Wheat from Russia, Egypt's top supplier, was said to be among the origins involved in the talks but it was unclear whether wheat from other countries could also be involved.

Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, has been increasing its presence in the Middle East and other emerging markets as it aims to raise agricultural exports by 150% by 2030.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a close relationship with Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who in March was one of the world leaders to congratulate Putin on his reelection. Furthermore, Russia is building the $30 billion Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt.

The talks follow GASC's purchase of only a small 280,000 tons of wheat in an international tender for up to 3.8 million tons on Monday.

Egypt's push for delayed payment terms in the tender on Monday in its attempts to secure huge wheat supplies at favourable prices, resulted in a purchase far smaller and more costly than anticipated, traders said.

The wheat in the direct negotiations on Tuesday could be provided by Russian firms United Grain Co (UGC), also known as OZK, and Demetra, according to one source.

Traders said initial price discussions on Tuesday were being held at around $248 a ton FOB, again with a payment delay of about 270 days. This would be higher than the cheapest FOB price of $241 a ton purchased by GASC in its international tender on Monday.

No purchase has yet been reported, they said. (Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Sarah El Safty in Dubai and Olga Popova in Moscow, editing by David Evans, Jonathan Oatis and Susan Fenton)