Japan buys 125,974 tonnes of food wheat via tender

TOKYO, May 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) bought a total of 125,974 tonnes 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 behind rice, buying the majority of the grain for milling via tenders typically issued three times a month.

Details of the tender are as follows (in tonnes):

COUNTRY	TYPE	QUANTITY
U.S.	Western White	4,815	*
U.S.	Dark Northern Spring(protein minimum 14.0 pct)	16,344	*
Canada	Western Red Spring(protein minimum 13.5 pct)	30,820	*
Canada	Western Red Spring(protein minimum 13.5 pct)	28,720	*
Australia	Standard White(West Australia)	21,965	**
Ausralia	Standard White(West Australia)	23,310	**

Shipments: *Loading between July 1 and July 31

**Loading between Sept 1 and Sept 30

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

(Reporting by Fumika Inoue
Editing by Mark Potter)