June 14, 2007

Japan purchases feed wheat, feed barley via SBS tender

Japan's Agriculture Ministry has purchased 16,170 tonnes of feed wheat and 204,180 tonnes of feed barley through a simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) system, a ministry official said on Wednesday (June 13).

Shipments are required to be delivered between the time the contract is finalised and Sept. 30.

It was Japan's third SBS tender for supplies of foreign-origin feed wheat and feed barley for the fiscal year started in April.

The rise in wheat prices in Chicago to its highest level in 11 years this week had helped lower demand, resulting in a drop of the purchased volumes of feed wheat and feed barley by the ministry as compared with its initial plans, the official said.

For both wheat and barley, all the bids were accepted, she added.

In late May, the ministry said it would buy 33,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 317,000 tonnes of feed barley at a June 13 tender after conducting a hearing with grain importers.

Imports of feed wheat and feed barley are controlled by Japanese government to help subsidise local farmers of key agricultural produce. Japan's food self-sufficiency rate stands at 40 percent on a calorie basis, one of the lowest among industrialised nations.

The ministry has said it plans to buy a total of 200,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 1.41 million tonnes of feed barley for fiscal 2007/08.

Wednesday's tender results showed the average buying price for feed wheat was 34,005 yen (US$276) per tonne, and the average selling price was 35,922 yen (US$293).

The average buying price for feed barley was 34,701 yen (US$282) per tonne and the average selling price was 36,631 yen (US$298).