The lowest price in the first round of offers in the tenders from Turkey's state grain board TMO to purchase 300,000 tonnes of red milling wheat which closed on Wednesday was $261.90 a tonne c&f, traders said. No purchase has yet been made and negotiations continue, they said. The TMO traditionally goes into several rounds of negotiations in its tenders seeking lower prices than initial offers. Any final purchase is expected to be made at a lower price, traders said.

The offer was made for shipment to the Turkish port of Samsun. This was followed by offers of $264.75 a tonne c&f for shipment to the port of Bandirma, $266.35 a tonne c&f to Mersin and $266.65 a tonne to Iskenderun, traders said. A total of 40 separate tenders each seeking 7,500 tonnes of wheat have been issued by the TMO. The TMO reserves the right buy up to 30 percent more or less than the tender volume at its own discretion, they said.

The wheat is sought for shipment Feb. 6-25 and March 1-15. Shipments are sought to eight Turkish ports. Traders said weakness in the Turkish lira in recent months has made Turkey's large wheat flour exports attractive to buyers, which is generating more wheat imports to boost local supplies.

Copyright Reuters, 2019