July 5, 2007

Cargill offers wheat to India

Cargill Incorporated are among the seven companies that have offered to sell wheat to India which is seeking to buy 1 million tonnes of the grain to boost reserves.

Louis Dreyfus Corporation, Concordia Trading Corporation and Glencore International AG also applied for the bid said a government official involved in the tender in New Delhi. The suppliers offered a combined 920,000 tonnes at US$317 a tonne and US$370 a tonne, more than the lowest price of US$265 quoted in a cancelled tender last May 30, he said.

For two consecutive years, India is buying wheat to boost stockpiles as demand exceeds output. The South Asian nation had 13.3 million tonnes of wheat in state warehouses as of May 31, less than the 17.1 million tonnes the government needs to store by July 1. Imports may rise to 5 million tonnes this year to cope with emergencies, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on May 12.

India called bids on June 26 for the grain to be delivered between August and November.