EU wheat higher with import tenders in focus

Some Russian wheat was thought to be in contention to be supplied in two tenders, potentially using shipment via the Baltic Sea, traders said.

In France, farm office FranceAgriMer sharply reduced its forecast for French soft wheat exports this season as it factored in extra feed demand generated by a weather-hit maize crop.

Traders said French wheat export activity remained relatively slow despite signs of France picking up some demand from countries typically supplied by Russia, such as Egypt and Sudan.

Three vessels were due to load 30,000 tons each at Rouen this week for Morocco while another vessel was expected at Rouen and then Dunkirk to load 60,000 tons for an undeclared destination, LSEG data showed.

A purchase by Algeria in a tender on Tuesday, estimated by traders at about 500,000 tons, followed by offers on Wednesday in a Pakistani tender seeking 750,000 tons raised the prospect of substantial demand for other supply origins.

“The past two days saw heavy demand with tenders set to take over a million tons of wheat out of the market,” one German trader said.

“Despite the dramatic fall in Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea shipments, big tonnages can still be achieved, but importers will have to pay high prices.”

Algeria paid about $30 a ton more in its Tuesday purchase than in its previous tender on August 5, meaning Tuesday’s purchase cost about $15 million more than the August 5 tender, traders said.

PARIS/HAMBURG, Sept. 16 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat rose on Wednesday, extending a rebound from a two-week low, as import tenders suggested that buyers were turning to higher-priced alternatives in the face of war disruption to Russian and Ukrainian exports, traders said.