Egypt's GASC receives wheat offers from six trading firms

Egypt's state grain buyer GASC again received offers from only six trading houses in its international wheat purchase tender on Thursday as uncertainty persists over new quality rules which have disrupted its wheat imports.

GASC had also received offers from six trading companies in its previous March 16 tendering, which compares with the 15 or more offers it could normally expect to get.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, has seen its enormous grain purchasing programme disrupted this year by conflicting quality rules from two ministries concerning ergot, a common grain fungus.

Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed has said he would allow wheat consignments containing up to 0.05 percent ergot, a common international standard, until an expert from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concludes a study about acceptable levels for Egypt.

Ergot is a potentially poisonous fungus in wheat and present worldwide and traders say it is not possible to give a commercial guarantee that shipments have zero content.

The lowest offer for Thursday's tender was for 60,000 tonnes of French wheat at $179.44 a tonne free-on-board (FOB) from Soufflet, traders said.