HAMBURG, Germany: A government agency in Pakistan is believed to have bought about 385,000 tonnes of wheat in an international tender for up to 500,000 tonnes, European traders said on Sunday.

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) bought an estimated 125,000 tonnes from trading house Aston and 260,000 tonnes from Solaris, all at $373.00 a tonne c&f, traders said in initial assessments.

The wheat can be sourced from optional origins but traders expected Russia to be a substantial source.

Aston had made the lowest offer of $373.00 tonnes in the tender and other trading houses had been asked to match the lowest offer, traders said. But only Solaris was willing to match the offer, they said.

The tender was issued after massive floods in September in Pakistan inundated farmland, damaging crops and sweeping away homes, bridges, roads and livestock, causing an estimated $30 billion of damage.

Shipment in the tender is sought in 2022 in consignments of at least 100,000 tonnes between Nov. 13-Nov. 18, Nov. 21-Nov. 26, Nov. 29-Dec. 4, Dec. 7-Dec. 12 and Dec. 15-Dec. 20.

Shipments must be organised so that all wheat arrives in Pakistan by Jan. 10, 2023.