A Syrian state grains agency has issued an international tender to purchase and import 150,000 tonnes of milling wheat, with payment offered using an Iranian credit line, European traders said on Friday. The tender deadline is June 16, traders said.
A Syrian minister told Reuters on February 22 the country did not expect to import wheat this year because of a better harvest and wider control of farmland. But Syria still had an Iranian credit line to pay for commodity imports if needed, the minister said. "The wheat tender I have received states directly that payment will be made using a credit line from Iran," one European grain trader said.
Syria also said on May 20 it hoped to receive a credit line from Iran worth around $1 billion which it would use to buy basic goods as part of Iran's support for Syria. Offers in the wheat tender from the Syrian agency General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade on a cost and freight (c&f) basis are sought in euros only, traders said.
Wheat and other foods are excluded from Western trade sanctions, imposed on Syria due to the government's attempts to suppress the longstanding uprising in the country. But dealers say difficulties in financing grain sales because of banking sanctions have deterred international trading firms from participating in Syrian tenders.