ABU DHABI/CHICAGO - Egypt's agricultural quarantine authority may stop sending delegations to inspect imported wheat at ports of origin, trade sources said on Thursday.
Egypt's quarantine authority has rejected a series of wheat shipments over traces of a common grain fungus, ergot, causing concerns over the country's tough new quality rules which have disrupted its massive wheat import programme.
Egypt, the world's largest importer of wheat, normally sends its inspectors abroad to clear wheat it has purchased ahead of its shipment.
But trade sources said the head of the agricultural quarantine authority, Saad Moussa, would stop that practice and had said no more delegations would travel from his authority.
An agriculture ministry spokesman, Eid Hawash, said "no formal decision has been taken until now," when contacted by Reuters.
