Spain imports Brazil's wheat

Spain has imported wheat from Brazil under a special quota to help fill its grain deficit, trade sources said Thursday, and shipments of US wheat are expected in the coming weeks. Spanish dealers usually use so-called tariff-rate quota (TRQ) permits to import from Black Sea countries such as Ukraine and Russia, but reported hold-ups due to cold weather and competitive pricing in recent weeks diverted interest to across the Atlantic.
Trade sources said 150,000 tonnes of Brazilian wheat were unloaded since late January in Spain's leading grains port of Tarragona. "All the Brazilian wheat's been sold, there can't be much of it left," said one dealer. Brussels has awarded TRQ licences to import about 1.2 million tonnes of low- and medium-quality wheat in the first quarter from countries other than the United States and Canada. Licences to import 148,000 tonnes of US wheat have also been awarded, which follows reports of sales of around 200,000 tonnes.