Global firms lining up bids for India's wheat tender

Several international firms are lining up offers for India's 2.2-million-tonne wheat import tender, bids for which will be opened on Tuesday, but top exporter the United States could be missing, traders said.
A relaxation in tender rules has sparked interest among a wide range of suppliers, after India managed to buy only 800,000 tonnes of wheat from a 3-million-tonne tender in May. "We expect a good response to the fresh tender looking at the number of enquiries that have been made," said a senior government official.
But traders said they were unsure if there would be big enough bids to cover the entire quantity of wheat in the latest tender since the volume was high and major exporters like Australia had already committed to large sales.
They said doubts persisted over US participation and that left only Canada among the top exporters in the field.
The new tender has raised the acceptable moisture content in wheat, altered fumigation rules and amended the tolerable level of fungi and pests.
"We are definitely going to participate in the tender. Though we have not yet decided the quantity we would be bidding for," said a senior official with a Netherlands-based trading firm.
He said competitors from France, Germany and Ukraine were also likely to participate.
"I expect wider participation with several international trading houses and firms from the European Union likely to bid against the tender," said a New Delhi-based trader.
Traders said US firms were unlikely to participate because even though some conditions had been relaxed, the sampling rules for tolerable levels of weeds allowed was still considered tough and their wheat would be expensive compared to that from other places.
"It will be difficult for the US firms to meet these norms," said a Mumbai-based trader.
Australia's national wheat exporter AWB Ltd said on Monday it had still not decided whether it would participate in the new tender.
"We're still looking at the specifications," AWB spokesman Peter McBride said.
AWB was one of two bidders which met the stringent conditions of the last tender for 3 million tonnes.
However, the Australian firm has been locked in negotiations with Indian officials after exports in a 500,000-tonne sale in March were interrupted when India complained about the pesticide content and other issues.