Saudi Arabia’s SAGO buys 484,000 mt wheat at tender

Saudi Arabia’s state grain procurement agency SAGO bought 484,000 mt of 12.5% protein wheat at an average $223.85/mt CFR, the agency’s press department said Monday.

The highest price the agency has paid for a wheat shipment since August 2015, the wheat for delivery between December 2017 and January 2018 is to be sourced from the EU, the Americas and Australia.

With delivery divided between Jeddah and Dammam, prices to be paid are only modestly higher than the previous tender. Some 306,000 mt was bought at $221.92/mt CFR Jeddah – up from an average of $216.13/mt CFR paid for delivery between October and December 2017. An additional 123,000 mt was bought at $228.81/mt CFR Dammam, up from $221.59/mt CFR.

Amid a glut of growing global wheat supplies, the Saudi purchase has offered an outlet for exporters around the world.

Nonetheless, at 484,000 mt, the purchase is the smallest volume SAGO has bought at tender since September 2016. In terms of similar delivery windows, SAGO has not concluded a deal this small since 2008, according to its own published records.