Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries bought a total of 104,677 metric tons of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender that closed on Thursday.

Japan, the world's sixth-biggest wheat importer, keeps a tight grip on imports of its second-most important staple after rice, buying a majority of the grain for milling via tenders typically issued three times a month.

Details of the tender are as follows (in metric ton): COUNTRY TYPE QUANTITY U.S. Western White 29,360 * U.S. Hard Red Winter(Semi Hard) 4,880 * Canada Western Red Spring (protein minimum 13.5 pct) 34,937 ** Australia Standard White (West Australia) 35,500 *** Shipments: * Arriving by Feb. 29, 2024 ** Loading between Dec. 21, 2023 and Jan. 20, 2024 *** Loading between Jan. 16, 2024 and Feb. 15, 2024 Source: Ministry of Agriculture (Reporting by Fumika Inoue; Editing by Sohini Goswami)