Saudi Arabia's main state wheat buying agency, the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO), has issued an international tender to purchase 720,000 tonnes of hard wheat, it said on Thursday. The tender deadline is March 10, it said. The wheat, with 12.5 percent protein content, is sought from global suppliers for arrival during May to July 2017, it said.
SAGO Governor Ahmed Al Fares said in a statement the 720,000 tonnes comprised 12 individual consignments of 60,000 tonnes, plus or minus 10 percent. The shipments will be distributed between the ports of Jeddah (480,000 tonnes) and Dammam (240,000 tonnes). The tender did not request specific origins. "There is expectation at least part of the purchase could be sourced in Germany," one European trader said. "Ship loadings in past weeks have shown large shipments of German wheat moving to Saudi Arabia which seem to indicate parts of previous tenders were supplied with German wheat."
"But Poland has also emerged as a major exporter recently and so it is not easy to assess the likely origins which will be selected." In its last reported wheat tender on Dec. 12, SAGO bought 725,000 tonnes of hard wheat of optional origins. Saudi Arabia has become a major importer of hard and soft wheat since abandoning plans for self-sufficiency in 2008 because farming in the desert drained precious water supplies.
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