Economy

Egypt ministry rejects US wheat shipment over ergot

Date: Jul 14, 2016

Egypt's Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday it had rejected a US wheat shipment as it contained a higher than allowed level of ergot fungus.

The ministry said in a statement the shipment had an ergot content of 0.096%, well above the 0.05% permitted by a decree passed last week on import specifications.

Egyptian quarantine authorities' refusal to permit wheat shipments with even trace amounts of ergot which can lead to hallucinations in large quantities but is considered harmless at minor levels wreaked havoc in the market over the past six months.

But a ministerial decree that came into effect on Tuesday put an end to the confusion by allowing for the more commonly accepted international standard of 0.05%.

The US wheat was tested for a second time in July after an initial rejection in June and was found to contain an unacceptable level, the ministry said on Thursday.

But documents belonging to the Health Ministry and seen earlier by Reuters show the cargo had initially tested for only 0.006% ergot.

The US cargo belongs to trading firm Venus and was initially rejected on June 12.

--Reuters--

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