Egypt was reported on Monday to have bought about half a million metric tons of Russian wheat in a private deal, succeeding in negotiating lower prices than those offered in the more traditional tenders.
One of the world's biggest importers of wheat, Egypt, last year started shifting toward direct purchases instead of tenders after the war in Ukraine disrupted its buying.
The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Egypt's state grains buyer, bought about 480,000 metric tons of Russian wheat from trading firm Solaris on Friday at a price of about $270 a ton on a cost and freight basis (C&F), four traders told Reuters.
Traders have told Reuters the price could be below an unofficial floor set by Russia's government to control domestic wheat prices.
Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per metric ton, believing it to be the set price floor and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton.
Traders told Reuters the price floor was not legally binding but that suppliers were expected to follow instructions from Russia's agriculture ministry.
There is a lack of clarity in the market about the level of the Russian minimum floor price.
Traders say there are different minimum prices for private sales and sales in public tenders, as well as different prices for sales each month between September and December and discounts for lower protein wheat grades.
In a tender last week, all Russian suppliers had submitted bids at a price floor set at $270 per metric ton on a FOB basis, with C&F prices ranging between $286.25 and $291 per metric ton.
Traders told Reuters then that this had weighed on Russian wheat's competitiveness, with GASC buying cheaper Romanian and French wheat instead.
GASC had also privately bought one cargo of Bulgarian wheat at $270 per ton C&F on Friday.
After the war in Ukraine disrupted the country's wheat exports, Egypt mainly relied on the relatively cheap Russian grain.
Last year, Egypt's supply minister said purchasing directly from suppliers enabled it to negotiate better prices at times of uncertainty.
The North African country has suffered from a foreign currency crunch after the Ukraine war delivered a broad shock to its economy, causing it to start deferring wheat payments.
The government had recently signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to buy imported wheat from United Arab Emirates-based agribusiness Al Dahra.
