Barter deal: Pakistan to ship wheat to Iran

SINGAPORE: Pakistan will start shipping wheat to Iran from December under the terms of a one-million ton barter deal agreed in August, Muhammad Najib Balagamwalla, chairman of grain exporter Seatrade Group, told reporters on Tuesday. Iranian wheat imports are usually handled by the private sector but the state had to step in and help with purchasing earlier this year because of the disruption to trade financing caused by Western sanctions aimed at Iran’s disputed nuclear programme. The barter deal, first proposed in March with Iran exporting fertiliser and iron ore to Pakistan in exchange for wheat, was deadlocked for months over price and quality. But in August, Pakistan agreed a price of $300 per ton, an official from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2012.