The winning company, described as a non-mainstream trader, had offered the lowest price of $244.34 a tonne c&f liner out in the tender. Offers submitted by multinational trading houses were at least $6 to $15 higher. Ethiopia has a large wheat import programme to cool domestic prices but has struggled to get some purchases completed because of contractual disagreements.
Results are still awaited for a separate wheat tender from Ethiopia for 600,000 tonnes which closed on April 30. Ethiopia continues to feel the impact of continued drought which devastated farms in some regions.