Egypt hikes purchases of French wheat, despite higher prices Egypts Gasc made an unusually large purchase of French wheat, and paid the most for the grain that is has done in seven months, in the wake of the threat to Russian shipments. Gasc, the grain authority for the worlds top wheat importing country, at its 27th tender of 2014, bought 300,000 tonnes of wheat – the most since the years first event, in January. The purchase took to 655,000 tonnes orders by Gasc this month, a sharp increase from the 355,000 tonnes acquired in November. And all but one cargo acquired was of French wheat, the biggest single order by Gasc from this origin in at least three years. Russias biggest customers The acquisition comes against a backdrop of concerns over a squeeze on Russian wheat exports, with talk of the government placing pressure on merchants to stem shipments, and on the countrys rail network to curb transport of grains to port. Gasc wheat purchases, December 20 60,000 tonnes of French wheat tendered by Granit at $258.69 a tonne, plus $16.30 a tonne freight 60,000 tonnes of French wheat tendered by Glencore at $258.69 a tonne, plus $14.95 a tonne freight 60,000 tonnes of French wheat tendered by Cargill at $258.30 a tonne, plus $14.32 a tonne freight 60,000 tonnes of French wheat tendered by Lecureur at $258.30 a tonne, plus $15.15 a tonne freight 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat tendered by Union Co at $263.60 a tonne, plus $11.43 a tonne freight Egypt, with Armenia, India, Syria and Turkey, is being reported to be given favourable treatment among importers. Its no surprise that Turkey and Egypt are on the list as they have been Russias biggest customers so far this year, traders at a major European commodities house said. Nonetheless, only one cargo of Russian wheat was offered to Gasc this time – which the authority purchased, although the grain relied on favourable shipping costs to Egypt to undercut rival French and Ukrainian tenders. Indias favoured status may reflect a recent visit by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to India, suggesting there is a political element to the way the export restrictions are being managed, the traders added. Meanwhile, Syria just happens to be the nation through which Russia intends to lay its new gas pipeline. Higher price Nonetheless, with Russias curbs sending wheat prices soaring, Gasc paid, at an average of some $259.50 a tonne excluding freight, more than $9 a tonne extra for its wheat this time than at the previous tender, compared with the previous event on December 11. US wheat was offered at $287.439 a tonne, excluding freight, by Louis Dreyfus, underlining ideas of the origins lack of competitiveness on international markets. The curbs have sent wheat prices soaring. Indeed, Gasc paid, at an average of some $259.50 a tonne excluding freight, more than $9 a tonne extra for its wheat this time than at the previous tender, compared with the previous event nine days before. Gasc has now bought 2.91m tonnes of wheat at tender in 2014-15, at a cost of some $750m. French wheat accounts for 1.14m tonnes of the purchase, making it the most popular origin, despite the countrys poor-quality harvest this year. Egypt is less demanding on quality specifications than some other importers, such as Algeria, making it a key option for French merchants attempting to secure some milling premium for grain.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 13:24:11 +0000
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