HAMBURG - A state grains buyer in Syria has issued an international tender to purchase about 100,000 metric tons of soft milling wheat, European traders said on Wednesday.

The deadline for the submission of price offers is believed to be March 10. The agency will make a decision within 15 days of the tender closing, traders said.

Shipment is sought within 30 days from the contract award. Payment offered is 80% on arrival of the grains and 20% after 15 days.

Traders said the announcement was believed to be the first large purchase tender since the change of power in Syria late last year.

The wheat can be sourced from any optional origins selected by the seller.

Payment for the wheat would be in U.S. dollars, the usual currency for transactions in the international grains market. The former government in Syria had declined transactions in dollars and generally offered payment in euros.

"The new tender could provide an indication of whether the new government in Syria can generate enough confidence in the international grains market to make a large-scale purchase," one European trader said.

"There will be need to be trust on reliable payment and that the ports are safe."

"I have been receiving inquiries from private Syrian companies about buying relatively small volumes of wheat but the payment possibilities are still unclear."

(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Editing by Louise Heavens)