Wheat sourced from Romania was offered at the lowest price of $244.00 a tonne c&f free out, in a tender by Iraq's state grains board to buy at least 50,000 tonnes of hard wheat, European traders said on Monday. The tender closed on Sunday. No purchase had yet been made and offers were still being considered, traders said.
Only three companies presented offers. "The low participation was largely because of uncertainty about tender terms and specifications," one trader said. Iraq had extended the offer deadline from February 5 to February 12 and cancelled a clause restricting the origin of the shipments. The initial tender on January 25 specified the United States, Canada and Australia as the only countries of origin. The modified tender said shipments from all origins would be considered provided they comply with the contract's specifications.
The lowest offer for Russian wheat was $245.50 a tonne c&f free out, Bulgarian was offered lowest at $244.50 a tonne c&f free out and Ukrainian lowest at $245.00 a tonne c&f free out, traders said. The lowest offers were all made by a local Iraqi trading company rather than an international trading house, they said. The company made all the offers for 50,000 tonnes.
One offer of Canadian wheat was made at $334 a tonne c&f by a major trader, they said. A third company also offered Russian wheat, at $255 a tonne c&f free out. No offers of wheat from the United States were reported. In its last reported wheat tender on May 19, Iraq's grains board made no purchase after seeking offers for at least 50,000 tonnes of hard wheat.