August 8, 2006

India's PEC issues tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat

India's state-owned trading house PEC Ltd has issued a tender to import at least 50,000 tonnes of wheat for delivery in September and October, a senior government official said Tuesday (Aug 8).

While (State Trading Corp) is importing wheat on behalf of the government, other two (state-owned) trading houses, PEC and MMTC, have also started imports on their own, the official told Dow Jones Newswires.

The official said PEC is importing wheat on behalf of private buyers such as flour mills, and is seeking wheat from any origin at the most competitive price.

This is the fourth tender to be issued by a federal-government run trading house in less than a month, seeking a total of 620,000 tonnes.

In July, STC issued a tender to purchase 400,000 tonnes of wheat on behalf of the government. It has already finalised an import of 330,000 tonnes of wheat around US$210-US$212/tonne, on cost and freight basis, from Switzerland-based trading house Agrico Trade and Finance SA for delivery in September and October.

Through another tender in July, MMTC purchased 50,000 tonnes of wheat of Black Sea origin at US$179/tonne, C&F, from its Singapore-based unit MTPL for delivery by end-September.

Tuesday, MMTC issued another tender to import up to 120,000 tonnes of wheat in parcels of 25,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes. The bids have to be submitted by Aug 17 and must be valid for consideration until Aug 28.

Between February and June, STC purchased 3.5 million tonnes wheat on behalf of the government at prices ranging from US$179-$205/tonne.