February 27, 2009

Pakistan has terminated a tender to purchase 250,000 tonnes of US white wheat after receiving only one bid, government officials said Thursday (Feb 26).

A new tender was unlikely in the next few months and any decision of a new tender will be taken in July when Pakistan assesses its stock position and needs, a senior official at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said.

The tender was issued on December 24 and was closed on February 7, after having been deferred three times. Traders said Cargill Inc. submitted the sole bid at US$237.88 per tonne free-on-board.

Pakistan may also ask the US to divert the credit facility for buying other commodities on hopes of a rebound in wheat production, as the country currently uses the facility only for wheat. The facility is available to Pakistan until September 30.

The ministry official said Pakistan was expecting a bumper crop of 25 million tonnes this year, and with the harvesting of new crop already underway, import is seen as unnecessary.

Pakistan has bought or contracted about 2 million tonnes of wheat since August after output fell to 21.8 million tonnes in the 2007-08 crop. The country consumes about 22 million tonnes of wheat per year.

A trader in Karachi said it was hoped other commodities such as soy and fertiliser could be imported from the US under the credit programme.