The Hindu Business Line : PEC floats tender to import 3.5 lakh t wheat

Previous contracts
Earlier this month, MMTC had awarded contracts at a weighted average price of $400.19/t cost & freight.
In June and Aug, STC had issued 2 tenders at an average of $325.59/t and $389.45/5 respectively.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov 26 After MMTC, it is the turn of yet another state-run trading firm, PEC Ltd, to float a tender for import of up to 3.50 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat on behalf of the Centre.

Delivery

PEC’s tender, issued here on Monday, has sought delivery of 65,000 tonnes at Mundra, 50,000 tonnes at Kakinada, 45,000 tonnes at Kandla, 40,000 tonnes each at Chennai, Vizag and Tuticorin, and 35,000 tonnes each at Kochi and Mumbai.

The wheat is to arrive before March 10, with the bidders required to quote on a port-wise and month-wise delivery schedule. The tender opens on December 3, with the bid offers valid till December 8.

MMTC had earlier, on November 12, floated a tender for a similar quantity. Against the tendered 3.50 lt, the company, on November 23, awarded contracts for supply of 342,500 tonnes at a weighted average price of $400.19 a tonne, cost & freight. This included 1.80 lt to the US-based Cargill and the 1.625 lt to the Swiss trader, Glencore.

Prior to this, the State Trading Corporation of India (STC) had issued two tenders on June 26 and August 30, against which it contracted 5.11 lt and 7.95 lt at an average of $325.59 and $389.45 a tonne, respectively.

During the current fiscal, the Centre has so far finalised imports of 16.485 lt through STC and MMTC. If to this, one adds the latest PEC tender for 3.5 lt and a prospective one for the same quantity by STC, total imports contracted on Government account in 2007-08 will cross 23 lt.

In 2006-07, the Centre contracted 55 lt of wheat imports – wholly through STC – at an average rate of $205.31 a tonne. Each new tender has elicited higher quotes than the preceding ones.

Climate impact: Pachauri

PTI reports from Ahmedabad: Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate change, Mr Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, said global warming hit agricultural productivity, particularly wheat production in the country.

“The warmth of the last half-century is unusual,” he said, delivering a keynote address at the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education being held at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) here.

“In recent years, temperatures have increased. The earth is warming at a faster pace than at any time that we can think of in the past couple of generations,” Mr Pachauri said.

“Clearly, there is a lot to worry about,” he said, adding the effects of global warming have also been seen in India. “The warming of land area has been more pronounced in post-monsoon and winter period,” the IPCC head, who recently shared the Noble Peace Prize with Mr Al Gore, said.

“This has a very serious effect on agriculture,” he added. “Agriculture productivity, particularly of wheat, has shown signs of going down as a result of the climate change.”

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