Saudi Arabia's grains authority said on Monday it paid an average of $228 per tonne, cost and freight included, for its latest wheat purchase, which was for 990,000 tonnes - one of the biggest wheat tenders this year.

The Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organisation (GSFMO) paid $240 C&F per tonne for 495,000 tonnes of wheat with a 14 per cent protein content and $216 C&F per tonne for 495,000 tonnes of wheat with a 12.5 per cent protein content, its managing director, Waleed Al-Khariji told Reuters.

'We managed to get a very competitive price ... I think we are doing better in terms of prices after every tender,' Khariji said in a telephone interview.

The wheat was of Canadian and German origin. 'It is 990,000 tonnes, plus or minus 5 per cent. ... German origins outweighed the Canadian origins,' Khariji added.

GSFMO said the wheat would be delivered between October this year and April 2011. It said 10 cargoes would be shipped to the Red Sea port city of Jeddah with eight going to the eastern port city of Dammam.

'This tender will enable us to have enough supplies until April,' he said. Asked when GSFMO will issue its next tender, he said: 'We will study the market and see when the price is right. We have issued the tender for the 990,000 tonnes because we deemed the timing was right in terms of prices'.

Khariji said GSFMO's next tender 'could be for less than half its latest purchase'.

European traders said the tender had been called on Wednesday of last week.-Reuters