June 16, 2011

Taiwan's MIPA stops July corn import tender

Taiwan's Maize Industry Procurement Association (MIPA) will not reissue a tender to import 43,000 tonnes of corn for July 1-15 shipment, trading executives familiar with the tender said Wednesday (Jun 15).

MIPA passed on the tender late last month, citing high prices.

Rather than reissuing the tender for bulk shipment, members of the association are making smaller purchases individually for shipment in containers, one of the traders familiar with MIPA's plans said.

He said it is around US$15 a tonne cheaper to import corn in containers.

Another trader said MIPA may issue its next tender this month, seeking bulk corn for shipment in August. MIPA also cancelled a tender seeking corn for shipment during June 1-15 due to high prices.

In the latest tender for July 1-15 corn, the lowest offer was 212.37 cents/bushel above the September contract on the Chicago Board of Trade, from commodities trading company Noble Resources. CBOT September corn futures are trading around US$7.31 a bushel.