BEIRUT - Syria's state grain agency, the General Establishment for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob), has issued a tender to purchase 200,000 tonnes of wheat, it said on Monday.

The wheat can be sourced from Russia, Romania or Bulgaria and shipment and is sought between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30. The tender allows partial shipment but not less than 100,000 tonnes, it said in a faxed statement.

The deadline for the tender is July 2, and the payment would be in Syrian pounds, it said.

A government source said last month Syria was expected to buy less than one million tonnes of local wheat from farmers in the 2018 season because of poor rainfall, a sharp drop from the 2.17 million-tonnes crop in 2017. 

Hoboob cancelled its most recent purchase tender in February, in which it was seeking to buy 300,000 tonnes, citing high prices.

The country was once self-sufficient in wheat under a state-promoted policy, but has had drastically lower production since the start of its war seven years ago.

(Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Jason Neely and Adrian Croft) ((angus.mcdowall@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: angus.mcdowall.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))