British milling wheat has been sold to Turkey for the first time in the form of a 7,200-ton shipment, merchant Gleadell said late last week, online news broadcaster arabnews.com reported.

"We have just loaded the MV Catalina with 7,200 tons of UKP milling wheat bound for Turkey as the first ever shipment from the United Kingdom," Gleadell trading manager Marc Rogerson said in a statement, the website reported quoting Reuters.

UKP is a brand of U.K. milling wheat that comprises semi-hard varieties to suit both European Union and non-EU bread-making.

A drought in Russia has helped to open up many new markets for British wheat during the 2010/11 season, which lasts from July to June.

Shipments through the end of January to non-EU destinations totaled 280,772 tons, sharply up from just 22,448 tons in the same period in the 2009/10 season, customs data showed.