According to grain traders attending an international conference, flour millers in Asia increased their imports of U.S. Wheat in recent weeks due to the competitive prices offered by American suppliers, and delays in Black Sea shipments.

Two grain traders told the Jakarta event that Indonesian importers had finalised deals worth around 500,000 tonnes, while Bangladeshi buyers secured around 250,000 tons of grain, and millers from Sri Lanka bought around 100,000 tons.

One regional trader said, "Millers will accept both U.S. hard red winter wheat and soft white wheat varieties." Weather issues delayed some cargoes coming from the Black Sea Region and U.S. Prices have been very competitive.

They said that this is an additional demand for U.S. Wheat in Asia, which complements traditional buyers like Thailand, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

One of the traders cited a recent transaction in which U.S. soft-white wheat was sold for $270 per metric tonne, including freight and cost, to a buyer from Southeast Asia. Hard red winter varieties were sold for $275 per tonne.

The two traders who attended the event were not willing to be named as they aren't authorised to talk to the media.

Southeast Asian nations will increase their U.S. grain, oilseed and other purchases. This will reshape trade flows, after signing agreements with Trump's administration, which have displace supplies from Australia and Canada.

The second trader said, "Countries have committed to taking more U.S. grain but we believe these deals are driven primarily by commercial reasons." "The prices in the United States are very competitive, so buyers will take U.S. cargoes."

The Indonesian Wheat Flour mills association has signed an agreement with its counterparts in the United States to purchase at least one million tons of U.S. Wheat per year between 2026 and 2030. Bangladesh committed to import 700,000.00 tons of American Wheat annually on July 20, to strengthen trade relations.

In its latest monthly report on global supply and demand, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised U.S. exports of wheat to 24.5 millions tons for 2025/26. This is up from an earlier estimate of 23.5 million tonnes. (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong; Naveen Thurkral)

(source: Reuters)