June 15, 2006

 

AWB eyes India's new wheat tender with old row still unresolved
 

 

Australian wheat exporter AWB Ltd is considering the terms of the latest tender to supply India while a dispute over a troubled first tender earlier this year has not yet been resolved, Peter McBride, a company spokesman, said Thursday (Jun 15).

 

State Trading Corp, or STC, floated the latest tender on behalf of the Indian government for 2.2 million tonnes of wheat on Monday (Jun 12).

 

AWB will look at this tender, McBride said.

 

"If we're satisfied with those terms and conditions, we'll put in the appropriate bid for the relevant tonnage we're comfortable with," he said in a brief interview.

 

"No decision on that has been made yet," he said.

 

Meanwhile, AWB is still working through with Indian authorities a dispute over quality specifications that is delaying the delivery of a 500,000-tonne supply contract awarded in March, he said.

 

Just 92,000 tonnes, or two cargoes of this tender, have been unloaded, in a row that dates from late April over the stringent quality specifications in the contract.

 

"It's looking promising," McBride said. "We think we're close to a resolution on that."

 

The dispute centers on a zero-tolerance clause for ergot fungi in the Indian contract.

 

This condition was relaxed in a second tender, which allowed up to 0.01 percent of grain with ergot.

 

India wanted to import three million tonnes of wheat in that second tender, but fell well short of offers, awarding AWB a contract to supply 500,000 tonnes by October, but AWB still is considering the terms and conditions for this second tender.