Ljubljana - Plans to create a large stockpile of wheat to help Slovenia weather the global food supply crisis have floundered after the only bid submitted in the National Commodities Reserves Agency's open call was declared invalid because it did not include a financial guarantee.

The bid has been rejected and the formal procedure has been completed, the agency said on Wednesday. It remains unclear whether a new open call will be published since the agency said the existing stockpile of wheat was sufficient to supply Slovenia for several months in the event of an emergency.

At the request of the government, the agency sought to buy 40,000 tonnes of wheat in a 17 July open call that was dismissed by farmers as too late since the wheat harvest had already ended by then, and too focused on price to be attractive to Slovenian producers.

The original plan was to give Slovenian farmers a channel to sell all their wheat at a predictable price and to make sure the country has enough wheat to survive global disruptions because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The situation has since improved as Ukraine's wheat shipments have resumed after the unblocking of Black Sea ports.