RI buys Australian wheat

RI buys Australian wheat

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Indonesia has bought 30,000 to 50,000 tons of Australian wheat for prompt delivery at a tender, a Singapore-based trader said yesterday.

The price was not immediately available.

Indonesia, whose commodities imports have been slashed by a financial crisis, is one of Australia's biggest wheat markets.

The head of Indonesia's state commodity regulator Bulog, Beddu Amang, said on Tuesday Indonesia would hold international tenders for the import of essential commodities.

Indonesia would announce the amount of the commodities it needed in the future, replacing "silent operations" in importing rice or soybeans in the past, he said.

Under the "silent operations" policy, deals were done on a government-to-government basis or between the Indonesian government and private firms to avoid price volatility.