DUBAI - Saudi Arabia has issued a tender to purchase 420,000 metric tons of hard milling wheat, the General Food Security Authority (GFSA) said on Thursday.

The delivery of the wheat, which should have 12.5% protein content, is scheduled for December through January, GFSA said in a statement.

The deadline for receiving offers is Friday.

GFSA is seeking delivery to several ports, with 120,000 tons to Jeddah, 180,000 tons to Yanbu and 120,000 tons to Dammam, it said.

Traders added that the agency was seeking consignments of 60,000 tons each, with arrival between December 1 and January 15.

In its previous wheat tender in May, GFSA bought 621,000 tons for arrival between August and October.

(Reporting by Tala Ramadan; additional reporting by Michael Hogan and Gus Trompiz Editing by Michael Georgy and Tomasz Janowski)