Syria postpones tender for Russian wheat

Syria’s state grain buyer, the General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob), has postponed a tender for 1 million tonnes of wheat, a government source said on Wednesday.

“The tender has been postponed until Sept 8,” said the source, who declined to be identified.

Syria was seeking wheat of Russian origin on a cost and freight basis.

The source did not comment on the reason behind the delay.

Hoboob has previously kept its tenders open to more than one origin.

The massive import tender comes as the government is yet to give a local wheat crop estimate for the year or a figure for the quantity of Syrian wheat Hoboob has purchased so far.

“There is a big need for the Syrian government to import to fill in the gap and this is an opportunity for new companies,” one Syrian trader said.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told Reuters in April the wheat planted area was smaller this season than the previous one.

The area of land sown with wheat and barley for the 2015-2016 season stood at 2.16 million hectares, down from 2.38 million the previous season, the FAO said.

That was also down from 3.125 million in 2010, before the country’s civil war, and represented around two-thirds of the area targeted by the government. (RTRS)