Syria's state grains agency has issued an international tender to purchase and import 200,000 tonnes of soft wheat for bread making, European traders said on Tuesday. The tender deadline is December 21, traders said. Traders said in September that they had expected Syria to import more wheat despite the country's good harvest this year. Russia also gave Syria wheat as aid in past months despite reports of a large local crop.
Syrian farmers enduring a fifth year of civil war have sold less wheat to the state than last year despite their big crop, leaving a large shortfall to be made up with imports complicated by Western sanctions. The new tender from Syria's General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob) seeks a rapid shipment schedule of 20 days after the opening of a letter of credit for the purchase or bank transfer of payment for the wheat, traders said.
Shipment should be made in 50,000 tonne consignments, they said. Offers for wheat from optional origins must be made in euros and must remain valid for five days after the tender deadline, they said. In its last reported tender on October 27, Hoboob bought 200,000 tonnes of soft bread-making wheat. "The continued conflict in Syria means that an import requirement is likely to remain," one European trader said. Intensified fighting in Syria's main wheat growing areas in the north of the country this year will make it even more difficult for farmers to work on their fields and could hamper grain planting this season, a United Nations food agency official said in November.
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