Egypt's GASC buys 60,000 tonnes US wheat

Egypt's main official wheat buyer said on Wednesday he had bought 60,000 tonnes of US wheat for July 21-31 shipment.
Mahmoud Abdel-Hamid, vice chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), told Reuters he had paid $140.35/tonne FOB for 60,000 tonnes of US soft red winter wheat from Louis Dreyfus for shipment from the Gulf.
GASC said on Tuesday it was seeking offers to buy US, French or Australian wheat for July shipment.
In its last purchase on June 9, GASC bought 120,000 tonnes of French milling wheat for July shipment, its first purchase of French grain for about a year. In the previous 12 months, GASC only bought US and Australian wheat at international tender.
Egyptian Supply Minister Hassan Khidr told Reuters on Tuesday that Egypt was in talks with Australia's monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd about buying one million tonnes of wheat per year over a seven-year period.
GASC cancelled some tenders in recent weeks, saying prices were unsuitable. Officials said Egypt has less need to import at this time of year because the local harvest is coming in.
GASC usually imports about six to seven million tonnes of wheat a year. Trading sources said GASC was expected to buy 1.7 million and two million tonnes of locally produced wheat in the season, which they said was lower than expected.