Saudi Arabia has submitted a bid to purchase 655,000 tonnes of wheat, the Saudi National Grain Purchasing Authority announced on Thursday.
The delivery of wheat is scheduled for the May-July period, the General Food Security Administration said.
The deadline for submitting price offers is February 27, European traders said.
Results are expected on March 2, it added. Traders said 11 ships were required to load the cargo, including one bound for Jizan port, three bound for Dammam, three bound for Yanbu and four bound for Jeddah.
Traders said up to 240,000 tonnes were sought for shipments to Jeddah from May 1 to July 15, 180,000 tonnes to Yanbu for arrivals from May 15 to June 30, 180,000 tonnes to Dammam for arrivals from May 1 to July 15, and 55,000 tonnes to Jizan for arrivals from June 1 to 15.
Traders said shipments to Jeddah, Dammam and Yanbu were all sought with 60,000 tonnes of cargo.
They said more than 655,000 tonnes of the tender could be purchased. In the previous auction on January 19, the authority purchased an estimated 907,000 tonnes of hard wheat.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam; Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Louise Heavens, Alison Williams and Kate Mayberry)
