France is set to export a first cargo of wheat to Syria this season, port data showed on Wednesday, suggesting it might be switching suppliers as Black Sea region stocks run low.
A vessel expected at the northern port of Rouen on Thursday is expected to load 25,000 tonnes of wheat for Syria, port data showed.
Traders said the wheat, sold in a tender as optional origin, was initially expected to be sourced from Black Sea countries but a sharp fall in supplies there opened the door to a switch to French supplies.
Such switches took place over the 2010/2011 season when French wheat and barley replaced struggling Black Sea production, they said.
Wheat and other foods are excluded from Western trade sanctions which have been imposed on Syria in the wake of government suppression of an uprising in the country.
Traders say difficulties in financing grains sales because of banking sanctions have deterred international firms from participating in Syrian tenders. This has led to a series of Syrian wheat purchases arranged by dealers in the Middle East and Asia at higher prices than paid by other regional buyers.
Syria’s state grains agency issued a new international tender on Wednesday to purchase and import 100,000 tonnes of soft milling wheat, European traders said.
In its last reported grain tender on Dec. 19, Syria’s grains agency purchased 100,000 tonnes of wheat, which traders said were likely to be sourced from the Black Sea region, with the seller said to be a trading house based in Lebanon.
Presse complice (Agence Faut Payer, via Al-Jazeera Syria live blog, 2 janvier 2013)
La Turquie envoie 40.000 tonnes de farine de blé à la Syrie (gouvernement)
ANKARA – Le gouvernement turc a signé un décret portant sur l’envoi en Syrie « pour des buts humanitaires » de près de 40.000 tonnes de farine de blé pour les civils, a annoncé lundi son porte-parole, Bülent Arinç.
« Une tragédie humaine est en train d’être vécue en Syrie (…) Nous voulons dépêcher 37.000 tonnes de farine de blé vers la Syrie pour subvenir aux besoins urgents des populations civiles en pain. Nous avons signé un décret en ce sens », a dit M. Arinç lors d’un point de presse au terme d’un conseil des ministres à Ankara.
M. Arinç qui occupe également le portefeuille de vice-Premier ministre, a déploré que « l’administration syrienne empêche malheureusement la distribution de l’aide humanitaire aux civils » en Syrie, pays voisin de la Turquie. Mais, a-t-il insisté, « Nous voulons quand même faire ce don humanitaire ». [sic ! NdJL] (…)
Presse complice (Algérie Presse Service, 25 décembre 2012)