The demand for Russian wheat exceeded supply by nearly 65% on the first trading day of the newly-launched Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX), Egypt’s internal trade and supply ministry said in a statement on Monday.

According to the ministry, 12,000 tons of the product went on sale at 9,750 Egyptian pounds ($398) per ton.

“Demand for wheat imported from Russia exceeded the ministry’s initial supply by 64.83% on the first day of the commodity exchange operation,” the ministry told the Al-Yaum Al-Sabia news portal.

According to the statement, the trading hub received 28 requests for almost 20,000 tons of wheat from Russia, with 18 contracts concluded.

Trading on the EMX was launched for the first time on Sunday, and kicked off with offers of Russian wheat. The ministry earlier said that gold, cotton, rice and steel may also be traded on the hub in the future.

At the current stage of EMX’s operation, auctions are expected to open twice a week. The next trading day is scheduled for November 30.