ETHIOPIA – The Public Procurement & Property Disposal Service (PPPDS), on behalf of the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise (EGTE), has finally awarded two companies a 2.4 million quintal purchase of wheat at 1.08 billion Br in its latest closed bid.

The bid came after the cancellation of another to buy four million quintals of wheat.

It was cancelled after the companies had offered their respective bids and sent the documents to the Board presided over by Abraham Tekeste (PhD) at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), which is responsible for evaluating and approving each of the strategic purchases made by the Agency.

The government has been importing different types of wheat for the purposes of market stabilisation. In 2009/10 and 2010/11, 5.3 million quintals and 2.58 million quintals, respectively, were imported.

In 2011/12 and 2012/13, the imports were 4.2 million quintals and 5.6 million quintals, which went slightly down to five million quintals in 2013/14.

For the current fiscal year, the purchase of 6.5 million quintals was planned, of which six million quintals have already been purchased.

During the earlier bid, 43 participants had purchased the tendering document and out of this 17 had responded and submitted their documents. During the technical opening, 13 participants managed to pass to the financial opening.

The earlier bid was found not to be satisfactory to the Board in terms of quality, quantity of the wheat, as well as the time of delivery, said Melkamu Defali, communications director of PPPDS.

On this latest bid, which attracted eight companies, the agency got only companies that agreed to supply half of the wheat by the agency, in bulk, which was four million quintals.

In the latest bid, the least offers were made by Promising International Trading, a U.K based company with a history of trading in milling wheat, sugar, sorghum, peanuts, groundnut oil and cake, sesame seeds and pulses with Ethiopia, Dubai, Ukraine, Syria, Egypt and Tunisia.

Promising offered 220.88 dollars, 222.09 dollars, 222.17 dollars, 223.01 dollars and 224.18 dollars per tonne for five lots, each with 40,000tn. On the other hand, a joint venture of TBG, the Bassiouni Group with Bukhawa Investment LLC, companies from U.S. and United Arab Emirates, respectively, have offered 224.38 dollars per tonne for 400,000 tonnes of wheat, registered as the second least offered price.

As per the least offer, the companies have been asked to supply their respective amount with the least price, which is 220.88 dollars.

However, in the case of Promising, it agreed to supply only 40,000tn with the least price it offered and the second least price provider has also accepted the least price offered by Promising and agreed to supply 200,000tn.

By the same token, the agency will give the chance and request the remaining six companies to supply the remaining 1.6 million quintals of wheat with the least price offered by the winner. Priority will be given to the third least price offering company.

The winners have agreed to deliver the bulk of wheat and unload it at the Port of Djibouti from mid-July to mid-September, 2015, said a procurement expert at PPPDS.

June 22, 2015; http://addisfortune.net/articles/two-companies-awarded-wheat-purchase-bid-at-1-08b-br/