HAMBURG/PARIS: Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has bought milling wheat in an international tender that closed on Tuesday, European traders said.
Purchases were reported at around $259 and $260 a metric ton, cost and freight (c&f) included, they said. Earlier reports of trades at $257 were unconfirmed.
The size of the purchase in tonnage terms was not initially clear, although some early estimates were of several hundred thousand tons purchased.
Tender negotiations are expected to continue on Wednesday after pausing on Tuesday for the end-of-day fasting break during the Ramadan holy month, traders said.
Algeria’s purchases are optional origin, but traders expected the Black Sea region to supply a substantial share.
Traders said they believed French wheat was again excluded from the tender. Diplomatic tensions between Paris and Algiers have brought French wheat sales to Algeria to a virtual halt since mid-2024.
The wheat was sought for shipment in three periods from the main supply regions, including Europe: April 16-30, May 1-15 and May 16-31. If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier.
Reports reflect assessments from traders and further estimates of prices and volumes are still possible later. In its previous tender on January 19, Algeria bought around 600,000 tons of milling wheat at about $254 a ton c&f.
Algeria buys wheat in tender, talks to continue on Wednesday, traders say
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Algeria buys wheat in tender, talks to continue on Wednesday, traders say
- Algeria’s purchases are optional origin, but traders expected the Black Sea region to supply a substantial share
- Traders said they believed French wheat was again excluded from the tender
France deploys jets over UAE to protect its military bases
PARIS: France has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the United Arab Emirates to protect its naval and air bases against Iranian attacks, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
France has hundreds of navy, air force and army personnel based in the UAE. Its Rafale aircraft are stationed at Al-Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilized to ensure the security of our facilities,” Barrot told broadcaster BFMTV in response to a question on French action in the UAE over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones.
“They have carried out operations to secure the airspace above our bases.”
On Sunday, “a hangar at a French base in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone,” Barrot said.
“Exchanges are multiplying to determine both how the country can defend itself against future attacks and how France can protect its interests there,” he added.
France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was however in the North Atlantic, as part of a previously planned multinational exercise, Barrot said, after he was asked if it had been sent to the Mediterranean.
To the best of his knowledge, it had not changed course, he said.
The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded by targeting US allies in the Gulf region.
Debris from a drone interception caused a fire that was contained at an oil industry zone in the Fujairah emirate on Tuesday, authorities said.
In Abu Dhabi, a drone struck a fuel tank terminal on Monday, causing a fire though operations were not impacted.
Tech giant Amazon said late on Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE were “directly struck” by drones, disrupting cloud services in parts of the Middle East.
