Algeria buys wheat in tender, talks to continue on Wednesday, traders say

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.