Saudi Arabia's state grains authority GSFMO said on Thursday it had issued an international tender to purchase 330,000 tonnes of hard wheat. The tender deadline is Friday, November 21, said GSFMO director general Waleed el Khereiji. The wheat, with 12.5 percent protein content, is for shipment during February and March 2015, he added. The wheat will be purchased in shipments of 55,000 tonnes with a total 165,000 tonnes to be imported via the port of Jeddah and 165,000 tonnes via Dammam, he said.
In its last reported tender on September 15, Saudi Arabia bought 610,000 tonnes of hard wheat for shipment between December 1, 2014, and January 30, 2015, with accepted origins the European Union, North and South America and Australia at the sellers' option. Saudi Arabia has become a major importer of hard and soft wheat since abandoning plans for self-sufficiency in wheat in 2008 as farming in the desert drained away precious water supplies.