The tender had closed on October 1 with offers having to stay valid until October 5.

 The reason for the decision not to purchase was not immediately clear.

The lowest prices offered to Iraq in the latest tender were for Romanian wheat at $399.50 a tonne c&f free out (ciffo), followed by prices of $406, $408.50 and $417 a tonne ciffo for a combination of Ukrainian, Brazilian and Argentine wheat.

In its last reported tender on September 19, Iraq bought a total of 150,000 tonnes of Russian wheat.

Volumes in Iraq's grain tenders are regarded as nominal and it frequently buys more than the tender volumes.

Iraq is one of the world's largest importers of wheat, much of which goes to supply a massive national food ration programme.