Egypt’s GASC draws offers from seven suppliers at wheat tender

Egypt’s state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), received offers from seven suppliers in a wheat tender on Friday.

The tender was the first since the resignation of Egypt’s minister of supply, Khaled Hanafi, on Thursday following an investigation into whether millions of dollars intended for subsidizing farmers were used to purchase domestic wheat that only existed on paper.

Egypt’s supply ministry, which oversees GASC, is in charge of the country’s massive food subsidy program.

Trade minister Tarek Kabil has been put in charge until a new minister is appointed.

The lowest offer presented on Friday was $177.70 a tonne free-on-board (FOB), for two cargoes each of 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, the traders said.

Results for the tender, seeking shipment from 26 September to 5 October, were due later on Friday.

An eighth supplier, Venus, was disqualified at the technical stage for not having the correct documents and was prevented from submitting an offer, traders said.

GASC failed to make a purchase in its previous tender on Tuesday, giving no reason for a cancellation that surprised traders after hours of negotiations with four suppliers.

Traders on Friday said the following offers were made in dollars per tonne FOB:

*Union: two cargoes each of 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $177.70

*Nidera: 55,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $179.70 a tonne

*Alegrow: 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $180.88

*Ameropa: two cargoes each of 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat at $180.11

*Daewoo: 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $178.60

*Louis Dreyfus: 60,000 tonnes of Ukraine wheat at $179.94

*ADM: 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat at $208.89

Traders also said they estimated the lowest cost and freight prices (C&F) in dollars per tonne as follows:

*Union: 2 cargoes of Russian wheat each of 60,000 tonnes at $177.70 FOB and $7.89 freight equating to $185.59 C&F

*Daewoo: 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $178.60 FOB and $7.89 freight equating to $186.49 C&F

*Nidera: 55,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at $179.70 FOB and $7 freight equating to $186.70 C&F

*Ameropa: 2 cargoes each of 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat at $180.11 FOB and $7 freight equating to $187.11 C&F

*Louis Dreyfus: 60,000 tonnes of Ukraine wheat at $179.94 FOB and $8.25 freight equating to $188.19 C&F

Source: Reuters