The Hindu Business Line : 8 bids for wheat import tender; quotes at $397-487

New Delhi, Nov. 19 MMTC’s tender for import of up to 3.5 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat on behalf of the Centre has attracted bids from eight suppliers who have offered an aggregate quantity of 10.60 lt at prices ranging from $397.03 to $487.95 a tonne, cost & freight (c&f).

The lowest bid of $397.03 a tonne for the tender — floated on November 12 and opened here on Monday — was made by Cargill, which offered to deliver 65,000 tonnes at Mundra port for this rate. The US-based commodity giant also offered 35,000 tonnes at $403.89 a tonne for Mumbai, 45,000 tonnes at $408.43 a tonne for Kandla, and 50,000 tonnes at $412.98 for Kakinada.

In terms of volumes, the highest quantum of 3.60 lt for Kandla delivery at $410.50 a tonne was offered by Glencore International AG. The Swiss trader also quoted a rate of $407 a tonne for 3.25 lt at Mundra and $422 a tonne for 3.5 lt at Kakinada.

MMTC Ltd is a trading arm of the Union Commerce Ministry.

Besides Cargill and Glencore, others who bid included AWB of Australia, Concordia Agritrading (a subsidiary of the Dutch trading house, Nidera), Alfred C. Toepfer of Germany, Starcom Resources of Singapore, Ameropa AG of Switzerland, and Russia’s Rias Trading.

While Starcom’s bid was rejected due to incomplete documentation, Rias Trading quoted the highest range, from $454.95 a tonne for Mundra and Kandla delivery to $487.95 a tonne for Kochi and Tuticorin.

Going by the rates and quantities offered, it looks like the Centre would eventually settle for an average of $405-410 a tonne. This would be higher than the weighted average price of $389.45 a tonne for 7.95 lt contracted by the State Trading Corporation of India (STC) in its last tender of August 23.

FINAL DECISION

But then, the $389.45 rate was finalised on September 3, when the dollar was worth Rs 40.9. At the current exchange rate of Rs 39.3-to-a-dollar, the last time’s $389.45 price would be equivalent to paying $405 a tonne now.

“We will take a final decision on the tender on November 24, which is also the last date for validity of the bids,” official sources said. The present tender requires the wheat to be delivered at various Indian ports by February 10.

During the current fiscal, the Centre has already contracted 13.06 lt of wheat imports, over and above the 55 lt for 2006. It has targeted imports of another 10 lt before March 2008 through separate tenders by MMTC, STC and PEC Ltd.

Of the 13.06 lt of imports contracted in 2007-08, a total quantity of 4,34,881 tonnes have arrived till November 13.

As on October 1, wheat stocks in the Central pool, at 101.21 lt, stood below the normative minimum buffer of 110 lt for that date. If the balance imports against the already contracted quantities are included, the stocks position would be just about comfortable.