February 1, 2005

Pakistan plans to up imports of Russian wheat 

Pakistan plans to hold a tender in February for 100,000 metric tons of Russian and Argentine wheat, it was reported Monday.

The agency quoted Russian grain trading sources as saying Pakistan purchased its first ever shipment of 150,000 tons of wheat from Russia in December and were satisfied with its quality and price.

The tender will be held by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Pakistan, or TCP. The first shipment was made at an average price of US$198.30 a ton, cost and freight, to Karachi.

The Pakistani firm said that Russian and Argentinean wheat varieties were cheaper and of better quality, having similar characteristics to Pakistan's domestic wheat. Pakistan had formerly bought wheat mainly from Australia and the U.S.

TCP plans to buy around 1 million tons of wheat in the 2004-05 marketing year (July-June), as Pakistan's 2004 output amounted to 19.7 million tons, below the targeted 20 million tons.