DUBAI/CAIRO- Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, is considering changing the terms of its international wheat purchasing tenders to ask suppliers to offer prices on a cost and freight (C&F) basis, traders said on Sunday.

The country's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), currently asks for prices on a free-on-board (FOB) basis with freight offered in a separate tender.

GASC is also considering paying for grain at its next international tender with "at sight" letters of credit which guarantee immediate payment on receipt of various shipment documents, as opposed to deferred payments.

GASC was not immediately available to comment.

An undated draft of the tender document seen by Reuters showed that the letters of credit would be paid through the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.

GASC had used financing from the organization to secure at sight payments for wheat last year, after receiving $1 billion. 

The draft also showed GASC would ask suppliers to detail what the FOB price of the wheat they were offering was, and what the freight would amount to, in order to reflect how the C&F was calculated.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had encouraged authorities to boost the country's reserves of strategic commodities at a time of rising global fears for food supplies due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cabinet said on Friday that strategic reserves of wheat were sufficient for 4 months, ahead of the anticipated harvest of the local crop which begins in mid-April.

GASC had issued an international purchase tender for wheat on Wednesday and promptly cancelled it, a move that baffled traders who are now expecting the buyer to come back into the market seeking the grain soon. 

(Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Nadine Awadalla; editing by Jason Neely and Pravin Char) ((Maha.Dahan@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 4082101; Reuters Messaging: maha.dahan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))