Passco to finalise arrangements for wheat export to Iran

Out of 1m tons, first shipment may be made this month.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Water and Power Naveed Qamar has asked Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) to finalise modalities for the export of one million tons of wheat to Iran in the wake of talks held between Pakistani and Iranian authorities in Tehran last month.

He issued the directive while presiding over a meeting of an ECC sub-committee here on Friday. The committee was constituted for the export of surplus wheat to Iran. Minister for national food security, secretary of food security, Passco managing director and senior officials of the commerce ministry attended the meeting.

It has been decided that one million tons of surplus wheat from Passco stocks as well as rice will be exported to Iran in a barter trade arrangement. Iran has expressed its desire to import the two commodities and in exchange it will export urea to Pakistan.

Qamar stressed the need for swiftly finalising the modalities so that first shipment may be sent to Iran and urea could be brought from there. A timely import of urea will benefit the farmers as the Kharif crop planting season is currently going on.

The minister said a formal approval for wheat export would be taken from the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) next week.

Earlier, National Food Security Secretary Shafqat Naghmi gave details of the Pakistani delegation’s meeting with Iranian authorities last month and said wheat export and urea import would be done through sea route.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2012.