Egypt, the world’s top wheat importer, bought 120,000 tonnes of French and Romanian wheat on Wednesday, marking its first French wheat purchase in nearly eight months. The state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) bought 60,000 tonnes of French wheat from Granit and 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat from Bunge at an average price of $258.89 a tonne on a cost and freight basis, its Vice-Chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah said. Traders gave the following breakdown of the purchase: - 60,000 tonnes of French wheat from Granit at $240.40 a tonne free-on-board and $17.50 a tonne freight from Mina Shipping - 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat from Bunge at $247.24 a tonne free-on-board and $12.64 a tonne freight from National Navigation Egypt had introduced a specification ruling out wheat with a moisture content of more than 13 percent in January, hurting prospects of shipments from France, where the average moisture content in the 2013 harvest was 13.5 percent. In June, GASC raised its tolerance again for moisture content to 13.5 percent, albeit with heavier penalties, but had not made a French wheat purchase since then. “I don’t think this is the start of a major comeback for French wheat in Egypt because the price offered (by Granit) was very aggressive. But it is important as a warning for Russian prices which have risen sharply,” one European trader said. GASC has purchased mostly Russian, Romanian and Ukrainian wheat on the international market since the start of the year. Offers presented on Wednesday contained no Ukrainian wheat and only one offer of Romanian wheat. “People have already turned their attention to shipping corn from these origins (Romania and Ukraine). This is going to leave Russian and French wheat in head-to-head competition for the upcoming tenders,” another European trader said. Egypt has bought 1.185 million tonnes of wheat on the international market since July 1, the start of the fiscal year. The supply ministry said last month its stocks had increased to six months’ worth, to last until the end of 2014. Egypt purchased 5.46 million tonnes of wheat from abroad in the 2013-2014 fiscal year in addition to 3.7 million tonnes of local wheat. OFFERS Traders said the following offers were presented in the tender, in dollars a tonne, on a free-on-board basis, unless otherwise stated: * Bunge: 60,000 tonnes Romanian wheat at $247.24, 60,000 tonnes French wheat at $248.01 * Cargill: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $252, 60,000 tonnes French wheat at $245.5 * Louis Dreyfus: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $256 * Granit: 60,000 tonnes French wheat at $240.40 * Glencore: 55,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $253.28, 60,000 tonnes French wheat at $247.48 * Soufflet: 60,000 tonnes French wheat at $245.94 * Nidera: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $256.24 * Noble: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $251.95 * Vitol: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $257 * Venus: 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat at $252.50 FREIGHT Traders also said the following freight (ocean shipping) offers were made in the tender, in dollars a tonne: Romania * National Navigation: $12.64 * Mina Shipping: $11.54 French * Mina: $17.50 and $17.70 Russia * National Navigation: $12.60 * Mina Shipping: $11.75, $11.90 for 60,000 tonne cargo and $12.25 for 55,000 tonne cargo * Glencore: $16.43 for 55,000 tonnes