Algeria buys 450,000-500,000 tonnes milling wheat for Sept shipment

PARIS: Algeria's state grains agency OAIC bought around 450,000 to 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat for September shipment in a tender that closed on Tuesday, paying between $199 and $200 a tonne, including cost and freight, traders said on Wednesday.

The origin of the wheat is optional but traders said the wheat was likely to come from Baltic countries due to concerns on the quality of the crop in France, Algeria's main supplier, and a better competitiveness of Baltic wheat, they said.

In its latest tender for shipment in August OAIC paid between $190 and $191 a tonne.

Algeria, one of the world's biggest grain importers, does not publish details of its tenders and results reported by traders are estimates.