February 1, 2008

South Korea's Nonghyup Feed rejects all bids in 275,000-tonne corn tender

South Korea's Nonghyup Feed Inc., or NOFI, rejected all bids in a tender to buy 275,000 tonnes of corn late Thursday, a company official said Friday (February 1, 2008).

"Prices offered in the bids were much higher than NOFI's expectations, so we did not award the tender," the official said.

He added that NOFI will "wait and watch" the price situation before setting a date for fresh tender.

Meanwhile, the Korea Feed Association has bought 100,000 tonnes US corn from trading house Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in private negotiations this week, a trader in Seoul said.

The first cargo of 45,000 tonnes will be supplied at US$305.45/tonne, to arrive in South Korea on Sept. 20.

The second cargo of 55,000 tonnes will be supplied at US$304.95/tonne, to arrive on Sept. 25.