MMTC floats tender to import upto 35,000 tn wheat at southern port

Mumbai, Oct 27 (UNI) The state-owned trading house MMTC which floated tender on Thursday has sought wheat for delivery at Chennai and Tuticorin ports.

Wheat has been sought at the southern ports as the demand among the millers in the region is high, a government official said.

''Vessel (carrying wheat) must arrive at the discharge port latest by Dec 15,'' the tender document said.

The bids can be submitted latest by Nov 6 and should be in multiples of 5,000 tn. Prices can be quoted on both free-on-board and cost and freight basis.

According to the tender document, technical bids will be opened at 1730 hrs on Nov 6 and price bids, of those who qualify technically, will also be opened subsequently on the same day.

The trading house said if the imported wheat consignment does not conform to the norms laid down by the union government, it would be rejected.

Earlier in the month, MMTC had sold back 50,000 tn wheat of Russian origin it had bought from its Singapore-based subsidiary MTPL as it failed quality tests.

MMTC had bought the consignment at USD 179 tn in July from its subsidiary.

Later again, plans of importing 120,000 tn of the food grain were shelved by the trading house as it found bid prices too high.

India has allowed private wheat imports at zero duty till Dec 31 to augment supplies in the domestic market and keep prices in check.

Earlier the government had allowed only State Trading Corp of India to import wheat at zero duty to shore up its buffer stocks.

STC contracted deals to purchase 5.5 mln tn wheat between February and July.

As on Oct 1, the government had 6.41 mln tn wheat stocks in the central pool, 37.7% lower than last year. Wheat stocks are also lower than the Oct 1 buffer norm of 11 mln tn.

UNI AR PM SKB1916