Japan buys 49,935 tonnes Canadian food wheat via tender

    TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture 
bought a total of 49,935 tonnes of food quality wheat from 
Canada in an irregular tender that closed late on Tuesday. 
    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 typically buys five grades of food-quality 
wheat from Australia, Canada and United States, via tenders 
usually issued three times a month that close on Thursdays. 
    But the ministry issued last Thursday an irregular 
Tuesday-closing tender to purchase a total of 49,935 tonnes of 
Canadian Western Red Spring wheat.     
    A ministry official said the supplementary tender was done 
as the ministry bought a total of 55,263 tonnes of Western Red 
Spring in a regular tender that closed last Thursday, which was 
below of 105,198 tonnes that was originally targeted. 
    "The latest tender was aimed to secure what we need as we 
hear that it is getting difficult to secure shipment of Canadian 
wheat due in part to winter weather," he said. 
    In December, the farm ministry issued a similar 
Tuesday-closing tender for the Canadian grade.    
     
    Details are as follows (in tonnes): 
    COUNTRY           TYPE                         QUANTITY 
    Canada            Western Red Spring            27,800 
                      (protein minimum 12.5 pct) 
                      Western Red Spring            22,135 
                      (protein minimum 12.5 pct) 
    Shipments: Arrival by May 31 
    Source: Ministry of Agriculture 
 
 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sunil Nair) 
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com)(+813-6441-1798)(Reuters 
Messaging: yuka.obayashi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: JAPAN WHEAT/TENDER