CAIRO, EGYPT — Egypt has approved India as a wheat supplier as the North African nation works to build its supplies and broaden its import sources amid trade disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Business Standard reported, citing the commerce ministry.

Egypt is likely to import about 1 million tonnes of wheat from India, of which 240,000 tonnes will be shipped in April. Egypt is the largest importer of wheat in the world at about 12 million tonnes annually and depends on Black Sea wheat, importing about 80% from Russia and Ukraine in 2021. 

An Egyptian delegation went to India to discuss wheat imports, visiting fields and grain stores in various regions for a rigorous quality review. The two sides also discussed facilitating the flow of Egyptian agricultural exports to India.

India, expecting its sixth straight bumper crop, is forecast to export 10 million tonnes of wheat in 2022-23, according to the US Department of Agriculture. India typically ranks second to China in annual wheat production but historically has accounted for less than 1% of global exports.