Saudi Arabia’s main state wheat buying agency, the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO), said on Thursday it had issued an international tender to purchase 475,000 tonnes of hard wheat.
The tender deadline is Oct. 27, it said.
The wheat, with 12.5 percent protein content, is sought from global suppliers for arrival in December 2017 and January 2018, it said.
SAGO Governor Ahmed Al Fares said in a statement the wheat is sought in eight individual consignments.
The shipments will be distributed between the ports of Jeddah (300,000 tonnes), Dammam (120,000 tonnes) and Jizan (55,000 tonnes).
In its last reported wheat tender on Aug. 21, SAGO bought 490,000 tonnes.
Saudi Arabia has become a major importer of hard and soft wheat since abandoning plans for self-sufficiency in 2008 because farming in the desert drained precious water supplies.