NEW ZEALAND MAY BUY U.S. WHEAT -- USDA New Zealand may need about 100,000 tonnes of wheat this year, which would normally come from Australia, but may be from the United States, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. In its report on Export Markets for U.S. Grains, the department said with the deregulation of the New Zealand Wheat Board, which normally imports wheat from Australia, there is the possibility of wheat purchases from the united states since the shipping cost between New Zealand and the Eastern Coast of Australia and the West Coast of the United States are about equal.