June 28, 2006

 

CWB: Canada offers wheat in India's 2.2-million-tonne tender

 

 

Canada is hoping to capture a portion of India's recent 2.2-million-tonne tender for wheat, according to an official with the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) on Tuesday (Jun 27).

 

The State Trading Corporation (STC) floated the latest tender on behalf of the India government on Monday.

 

"I can confirm that the CWB has offered wheat under that tender," said Maureen Fitzhenry, a media relations officer with the CWB. 

 

She said the results of the tender should be known sometime Wednesday.

 

"The CWB has been closely monitoring the crop developments in India and welcomes any opportunity to pursue a sale," Fitzhenry said.

 

Export sources, meanwhile, were indicating that Canadian wheat will be included in the tender results. However, there was no clear consensus among the exporters of how much Canadian wheat was sold. Some suggested the sale will only consist of a small amount while others were suggesting a good portion of the tender was awarded to the CWB.

 

The export sources also said Australian wheat will be included in the tender results.

 

If Canadian wheat is included in the tender results, that would be the first sale to India since the 1996/97 (August-July) crop year. During 1996/97, Canada sold 266,000 tonnes of wheat to India.

 

Fitzhenry said any sale would also represent a significant change especially since India has been competing against Canada in the wheat export market during the past few years.