After facing severe criticism for importing 5.11 lakh tonnes of wheat at an exorbitant $325.59 per tonne last month, the Government on Thursday floated a global tender to import an unspecified quantity of wheat for the period October to December.

Based on prices quoted by the global suppliers, the exact quantity of wheat to be imported will be decided by the Government-owned State Trading Corporation (STC), which floated the tender.

Considering the usual surge in global wheat prices observed in response to Indian wheat import tenders, the decision to float the tender with unspecified quantity is being seen as a course corrective step by the Government, which wants to curb any unusual jump in prices.

Additionally, the step to float the tender for an unspecified quantity is also aimed at maintaining India’s credibility in the global wheat market by avoiding the situation where the Government would have been forced to scrap its tender of specified quantities due to higher prices quoted by the global suppliers.

The recent tender stipulates that wheat suppliers should supply their quoted stocks in parcel size of 25,000-75,000 tonnes at Mundra, Kakinada, Kandla, Chennai, Tuticorin and Vishakhapatnam and in parcel size between 25,000 tons and 50,000 tonnes at Cochin and Mumbai ports. The suppliers have been asked to quote port-wise, month-wise quantities for arrival in each month from October to December 2007.