Reuters information about the termination of the contract with Ukraine for the supply of 240,000 tonnes of wheat by Egypt is a fake news, the document will be renegotiated due to the lack of provisions on the actions of the parties in the event of force majeure, which was the Russian blockade of Ukrainian seaports.

This was announced by Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Ukraine Mykhailo Nepran on the Hromadske radio with reference to the Ukrainian Ambassador to Egypt Mykola Nahorny and information received from grain traders.

"Indeed, the contract was concluded. Yes, the Ukrainian side, due to the blockade of ports, could not fulfill it in a timely manner. It turned out that they did not have a clause on the existence of force majeure in the deal. If there was such a clause, they would have come at the Chamber of Commerce, we would issue them a certificate, and this would be the ground for them to extend the term of the contract without penalty," he was quoted as saying.

According to Nepran, Ukraine and Egypt eventually decided to close this contract with unenforceable conditions and conclude a new agreement, according to which the purchase of wheat will be carried out.

"Moreover, as our ambassador to Egypt Mykola Nahorny told me, the Egyptian side officially assured him that it would in no way refuse to cooperate with Ukraine, that they understand the situation with the blocking of ports, and Egypt is ready to work with Ukraine and buy grain," the representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

He also recalled that the contract for the supply of 240,000 tonnes of wheat was signed at the end of 2021, and the deliveries were to take place in March-April of this year. During this time, the cost of grain has changed significantly, which will also be reflected in the new contract.

"Our grain traders told me that they are even happy with this situation, because when the agreement was signed in December last year, the price was about $250 per tonne. Now, the price has almost doubled. That is, from an economic point of view, it has become even more profitable for them, because the new contract will be concluded at a different price. That is, everyone was shouting that it was "zrada" [betrayal,] but it turned out to be a victory," Nepran said.