Egypt's agriculture ministry awaits cabinet decision on ergot ruling

DUBAI – 15 November 2017: Egypt’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday it was awaiting instructions from the cabinet on a court ruling which reinstates a ban on wheat imports containing even trace levels of the common grain fungus ergot.

“The ruling was against a decision that was issued by the cabinet so we have to await directions from there to know whether it will affect our process,” Hamid Abdel Dayem, spokesman for the ministry told Reuters.

“Until then it is business as usual,” he said.

Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, issued a decree last year permitting wheat imports with up to 0.05 percent ergot, a common international standard, following a near year-long standoff with suppliers who refused to do business after the country banned the fungus entirely.