EXPORT PROSPECTS for milling wheat to Egypt have been boosted after the country announced the UK will be included on its list of suppliers for the first time.

Negotiations with the country‘s state buying department have been ongoing for two years and this decision is very significant, said the Home Grown Cereals Authority‘s Andrew Flux.

While he acknowledged the quality of the 2004 crop is unlikely to meet the standards required by Egyptian millers, he remained optimistic about future prospects.

“It is a long term process – we have now created the situation for the UK to tender for imports to Egypt. The more potential markets we can open up, the better,” he said.

Egypt is the biggest buyer of wheat in the world, importing around 7.5m tonnes each year, Mr Flux noted.

“The primary market for UK exports will always be the EU, but we are also now working with countries such as Morocco and Tunisia,” he added.