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30-08-12

Saudi Arabia plans to purchase 550,000 tons of wheat

(MENAFN) Saudi Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization (GSFMO) has floated a tender to buy 550,000 tons hard wheat from global suppliers for shipment during the period from December to February, Saudi Gazette reported. The Saudi official buyer wants the wheat to be delivered in two shipments, 275,000 tons to the Jeddah port and an equal amount to Dammam. Last date to accept offers is Aug. 31, GSFMO said. Saudi Arabia seeks to entirely depend on wheat imports, after three decades of domestic self sufficient production, as it consumed a lot of the Kingdom's already scarce water reserves. Domestic wheat production in the Kingdom is expected to fall 46.9 percent to 669,900 tons during the period 2015-2016 as the government goes ahead with its plan to phase out wheat production altogether in the next decade, according to Research and Markets in the country's Agribusiness Report Q3 2012. GSFMO owns and operates 12 silo complexes in major cities around the country with a total combined storage capacity of 2.5 million MT. In January, GSFMO inked USD149.3 million contracts to build a 120,000 MT wheat storage silos and a flour mill with a daily milling capacity of 600 MT at a Jizan Port. Both projects will be operational in 2014. Saudi Arabia seeks to boost wheat storage capacity to 3.5 million MT by 2016.

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