India signs 500,000 tonnes of wheat deals for 2016 as drought cuts output

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indian flour mills have signed deals to import about 500,000 tonnes of Australian and French wheat this year for shipment between July and September as drought reduces domestic supplies, two trade sources said on Wednesday.

The bulk of the deals were signed in the past few weeks with millers paying between $237 and $243 per tonne, including cost and freight, for Australian prime wheat with 12.5 percent protein content and around $200 to $205 per tonne for French wheat with 11 percent protein.

(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)