(Adds trader quote, link to change in tender terms)
ABU DHABI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), bought 120,000 tonnes of Argentine wheat in a tender for Jan. 21-31 shipment, it said on Wednesday.
Egypt, one of the world's biggest importers of wheat, bought the wheat from Louis Dreyfus at the average price of $190.94 a tonne cost and freight, GASC Vice-Chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah said.
It was the first time GASC has bought Argentine wheat this fiscal year which started July 1.
"Low freight prices helped Argentina be competitive this tender," one Cairo-based trader said.
Traders gave the following breakdown of the purchase:
-60,000 tonnes of Argentine wheat from Louis Dreyfus at $174.88 a tonne free-on-board (FOB) and $15.40 a tonne freight equating to $190.28 a tonne cost and freight (C&F)
-60,000 tonnes of Argentine wheat from Louis Dreyfus at $176.20 a tonne FOB and $15.40 a tonne freight equating to $191.60 a tonne C&F
For a full list of offers presented in the tender click ID:nL8N14C1R6
GASC earlier said that it had changed its tender terms to allow itself more time to pay for wheat purchased from exporters. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N14C0Z5
Traders said the move was due to the foreign exchange crisis Egypt has been undergoing.