TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture bought a total of 126,805 tonnes of food quality wheat from the United States and Canada in a regular tender that closed late on Wednesday.
A tender is normally announced on Tuesday and executed on Thursday. However, the schedule was changed this week for administrative reasons. Japan will likely skip a tender next week, an official with the ministry said.
Japan, the world's sixth-biggest wheat importer, keeps a tight grip on imports of the country's second most important staple after rice and buys the majority of the grain for milling via tenders typically issued three times a month.
Details are as follows (in tonnes):
COUNTRY
TYPE
QUANTITY
U.S.
Western White
11,270*
Hard Red Winter(semi hard)
23,745*
Dark Northern Spring
27,440*
(protein minimum 14.0 pct)
Canada
Western Red Spring
30,000*
(protein minimum 12.5 pct)
Western Red Spring
34,350*
(protein minimum 12.5 pct)
Shipments: *Loading between Oct. 21 and Nov. 20
Source: Ministry of Agriculture