Syria issues tender to buy 150,000 T wheat from Russia

• Syria's wheat and barley crops improved this year, helped by rainfall and better security.
• The U.N. report estimated Syria's wheat production for the 2019 season at 2.2 million tonnes.
• Syria had been expected after the country made no purchase in its previous tender for 150,000 tonnes in early November.

HAMBURG: A Syrian state grains agency has issued an international tender to purchase and import 150,000 tonnes of soft wheat for bread making sourced from Russia, European traders said on Wednesday.

The deadline for offer submissions in the tender from Syria's General Establishment for Cereal Processing, Storage and Trade (Hoboob) is Dec. 18, traders said.

Shipment is sought 45 days after confirmation the order has been placed, they said.

Prices should be submitted in U.S. dollars only and payment will also be made in U.S. dollars.

A new tender from Syria had been expected after the country made no purchase in its previous tender for 150,000 tonnes in early November.

Syria's wheat and barley crops improved this year, helped by rainfall and better security, a United Nations report said in September. But food security remains a challenge.

The U.N. report estimated Syria's wheat production for the 2019 season at 2.2 million tonnes, up from the 29-year low of 1.2 million tonnes last year.

But the figure still falls far below the 4 million tonnes Syria was capable of producing prior to the civil war and imports have been complicated by financial sanctions.