JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia may become one of Australia's largest wheat markets as the country's imports rise and after changes to tender specifications this year opened access to the trade, CBH Group said in its forecast. Australia may be able to supply about 1 million metric tons a year as Saudi Arabia's annual imports increase to about 3.5 million tons from 2011-12, Tom Puddy, wheat marketing manager for Perth-based CBH's export division, said Wednesday. Saudi Arabia may purchase 2 million tons of wheat in 2010- 11 with foreign purchases to exceed 3 million tons in 2016, according to the FAO. Suppliers to the country this year have included Germany, Canada and the US, according to the Saudi state-owned Grain Silos & Flour Mills Organization website. Saudi Arabia's grain imports will probably rise to a record in 2010-11 as the country cuts back production of water- intensive crops, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report this month. CBH this year shipped the first Western Australian wheat bulk cargo to the country for more than 20 years after tender protein specifications were lowered and a zero tolerance for the fungus Ergot ended. “They are going to be reliant on imported wheat in the future, so this is probably the largest emerging end-user market globally,” Puddy said. Saudi Arabia may hold its next tender early in 2011 and could seek as much as 1 million tons, he said. Wheat for December delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.1 percent to $6.93 a bushel at 1:51 p.m. Melbourne time, taking this year's advance to 28 percent.
