UPDATE 2-India MMTC issues first global rice import tender
* India MMTC issues 10,000 tonnes rice import tender
* PEC, STC to float similar import tender
* Imports to boost buffer stocks
(Adds more details and background)
NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - India has issued a rice import tender with the state-owned MMTC (MMTC.BO) floating a global tender seeking 10,000 tonnes to be delivered in mid-December on the country's east coast.
The MMTC tender closes on Nov. 9.
PEC, another state-owned company with the mandate of rice import, would float a similar tender later today, two government officials said on Friday.
They said PEC would receive bids from interested parties over the next seven days for the consignment to be delivered next month at Kakinada port on the east coast.
Earlier, Reuters quoted official sources as saying India may import 30,000 tonnes of rice via three state-owned companies to prevent possible shortage after severe weather ravaged rice fields this year. [ID:nSP443388]
State Trading Corp. (STCI.BO), the third company that has the import mandate, is expected to float its tender shortly.
"We will also be seeking delivery on the east coast," said an official of STC who did not wish to be named.
India recently revoked a 70 percent import duty on rice, fuelling speculation that the world's second-largest producer and consumer of the grain may rattle the global market with imports, like it did last year by banning exports, helping prices soar to a record.
Earlier on Friday, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said India was assessing an expected shortfall in rice output this year and would import more to bolster its buffer stocks, if needed.
"We don't know what is the quantity of the shortfall. Projections are there, but at the same time the prospects of the next crop are very bright," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Cairo. Continued...
