Canada is favourite to win a big showing among winners of a huge Saudi Arabian tender for higher-quality wheat, with Lithuania also an outside bet, traders believe.

The Canadian Wheat Board, the world's biggest wheat seller, is said to be "bidding aggressively" to sell into the tender, which is at a headline level 500,000 tonnes, but which some traders said may turn out to be even higher.

"Canadian wheat is being aggressively offered for quite a few destinations," a London analyst told Agrimoney.com.

"Rumours are going round that the board is very interested in this [tender]. Given the size of the crop, and the quality factor, it looks highly likely this is the case."

New on the scene 

However, Lithuania, the former Soviet state, is also being perceived as getting a potential showing, after appearing on the export radar with some shipments to South East Asia.

"It has suddenly popped its head up on to the export market," the analyst said.

"That just shows you how much wheat there is around, if Lithuania is getting in on the act."

Saudi Arabia is seeking eight 55,000-tonne cargoes of wheat with a minimum protein content of 14%, and two loads with 12.5% protein.

The country's wheat imports are expected to rise from about 2m tonnes last year to 3m tonnes by 2016 as the desert kingdom phases out domestic production in an attempt to save water.

Unusual winners

A Lithuanian showing in the Saudi order, which will be decided on Sunday, would represent the second unusual sale victory in a week, after Kazakhstan on Wednesday won 60,000 tonnes of a 180,000-tonne tender placed by Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer.

However, a forthcoming customs union with Russia and Belarus is being seen as a boost to Kazakhstan's export hopes.

Kiev-based analysis group UkrAgroConsult reported last month that private Egyptian importers were showing a "strong interest" in Kazakh wheat.

Several buyers have launched since a poorly-received set of Washington crops estimates on Tuesday sent grain prices tumbling.

Egypt, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korean miller CJ have launched tenders since the reports.