June 29, 2010

Pakistan resumes wheat export to Afghanistan

Pakistan allowed on Monday (June 28) the All Pakistan Flour Mills Association (APFMA) to resume the commodity's export to Kabul, fixing the export quota at 200,000 tonnes.

The decision was taken after the country produced 23.867 million tonnes in 2009-10, combined with last year's carry-over stock of around 3.5 million tonnes. The country's domestic wheat requirement has been estimated at over 22 million tonnes.

A ceremony arranged by APFMA marked the resumption of exports to Afghanistan after a four-year ban, where Federal Minister for Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal was the chief guest.

The minister said the country was food-secure, adding that the government always included about a million tonnes of wheat and its products for Afghanistan through formal or informal channels.

"Even if Pakistan imposes a ban on wheat export, such a quantity of the commodity reaches the Afghan market through the porous border," Gondal said. He said that with the resumption of wheat export to Afghanistan, the mills could generate employment opportunities and the government could generate additional income.

The minister said the government would try to increase export of wheat-products to other countries so that the surplus quantity of the commodity could be absorbed. The minister said wheat was a staple crop and was directly related to food security in the country.

Earlier, Punjab Floor Mills Association Chairman Liaqat Ali Khan said Afghanistan had remained the main market for Pakistani wheat and related products for the last 30 to 40 years, and the ban had badly affected the trade.

He said the imprudent policy on part of the previous government also affected the main market of Afghanistan, as the ban provided an opportunity to countries like Russia, Iran and India to capture the wheat trade in the Afghan market.

Khan assured the government to export the entire surplus quantity of wheat subject to the condition that the government provided subsidy on exports.