August 1, 2008

Israel buys EU corn despite tender stating US-origin only

Despite issuing a tender for corn from US-origin only, a consortium of Israeli private buyers ended up buying 20,000 tonnes of EU-origin corn,, European traders said on Thursday (July 31, 2008).

Traders tracking the tender, which closed on Wednesday, noted that European offers were very much lower than US corn.

The corn sold was believed to come from Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

The consortium had issued a tender for the purchase of up to 24,000 tonnes of US number two yellow corn for shipment between Oct 10-31.

However, the consortium did purchase about 20,000 tonnes of DDGS, corn gluten feed and soymeal also included in the tender, all from the US, traders said.

Traders said purchasing by Middle East corn importing countries was likely to accelerate in coming weeks following recent falls in corn prices.