June 13, 2006

India issues tender for 2.2 million tonnes of wheat

The Indian government has issued a tender to import 2.2 million tonnes of wheat Monday (Jun 12) after it had failed to attract enough volume to meet required quantities earlier.

The tender, valid until Jun 20, would have more lenient quality criteria than the previous tender to attract bidders, an official of the State Trading Corporation (STC) said.

India managed to buy only 800,000 tonnes of wheat out of the three-million-tonne requirement from a previous tender.

Two firms, Australia's AWB Ltd and Russian-owned Agrico Trade and Finance -- met quality criteria. Bids from six other companies were rejected.

Although wheat specifications have been changed, payment terms would remain the same, an official said.

India's wheat production is estimated at 71.54 million tonnes this year, down from an earlier projection of 73 million tonnes after damages caused by rains and hailstorm.