Egypt Seeks Tariff-Free Russian Wheat

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

17 February 2015

Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, has announced that he is seeking to win an export duty exemption from Russia for Russian wheat exports.

Egypt is the world's biggest importer of wheat and has been badly affected by Moscow's recent restrictions on wheat exports and the introduction of an export tax on February 1. Following a visit to Egypt by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Nour said that he had reached a preliminary agreement with Russia's Agriculture Minister and would try to cement the deal in April, so that it may become effective in June.

However, according to Russian media reports, this announcement has been refuted by the Russian agriculture ministry, which said that it would not be possible to grant exemption to Egypt alone, because any exemptions would have to apply to all countries.

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