The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed a $100m financing agreement with Egypt’s General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) to cover the country’s needs of basic strategic commodities during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The funding is part of the Master Murabaha Agreement concluded between Egypt and ITFC. It will enable GASC to mitigate the effects of coronavirus by securing food commodity imports.
Hani Sonbol, ITFC CEO, said, “The financing is specifically targeted at supporting the importation of critical basic commodities such as wheat and sugar, which are two staples that the mass population of Egypt depends upon. ITFC is absolutely committed to doing what it can to assist in achieving food security in Egypt during a time when national economies are struggling with the economic impact of this terrible new disease.”
The amount will be used to purchase 240,000 tonnes of wheat and 100,000 tonnes of sugar.
Since 2018, ITFC has been supporting the efforts of the Egyptian government through trade finance facilities that benefit GASC, the largest buyer of wheat in Egypt.
ITFC provided $393m financing facilities that were used in 2019 to import 1.3m tonnes of wheat and 130,000 tonnes of rice.
