Turkey’s state grain importer again widened the terms of an upcoming wheat tender, its second change to the terms of a 400,000 mt deal which is expected to close Friday, as cash prices on the Black Sea continue to rise.
The Turkish Grain Board (TMO) on Wednesday told traders it would permit white wheat to be loaded in an optional origin tender, expanding the list of potential origins for cargoes to be lifted from to include suppliers such as Argentina, Australia, India, and parts of the US and Canada.
TMO’s wheat import tenders typically stipulate for red wheat to be loaded from the Black Sea, the EU, or the UK.
Wednesday’s move comes after TMO had already postponed the tender’s closing and shipment dates after bad weather across Turkey disrupted travel.
The tender is now set to close Friday with shipment for January 26-February 25.
Wheat prices in Turkey have followed the global market higher, spurred on to multi-year highs after Russia increased export duties to slow its grain sales pace.
The best-priced offers for Russian February loading 12.5% milling wheat have increased $15/mt over the past week to $295/mt CIF Marmara against bids at $288/mt.
A deal was booked for February 12.5% at $292/mt CIF Marmara on Wednesday, the highest level since Agricensus started tracking Black Sea prices in 2017.
