July 26, 2007

Israeli consortium buys 90,000 tonnes of US corn

A group of importers from Israel has bought 90,000 tonnes of US-origin corn and 25,000 tonnes of US sorghum through a tender which closed on Wednesday (July 25), European traders said.

The group had bid for to 56,000 tonnes of corn from the US or South America. However, Israeli traders reportedly prefer the South American supplies since it is cheaper than US corn.

The consortium had also sought tenders for 32,000 to 40,000 tonnes of corn and 16,000 to 24,000 tonnes of sorghum from the US.

As a third alternative it also sought bids for 48,000 tonnes of corn and 8,000 tonnes of soymeal, with the meal from both the US or South America.

However, there were no purchases of soymeal made.

On July 3, Israeli private buyers bought 110,000 tonnes of corn and 24,000 tonnes of sorghum from the US, with high ocean shipping prices removing the advantage of lower Argentine corn prices and helping US bidders.