October 19, 2001	Friday	Shaba'an 1, 1422

HAMBURG, Oct 18: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is considering a request from Iraq that it replaces 52,000 tons of wheat rejected on quality grounds, a corporation official said on Thursday.

At the beginning of October, Iraq rejected 45,000 tons of a 96,000-ton consignment of Pakistani wheat because Baghdad objected that it contained sand and stones.

The total rejected had now risen to 52,000 tons, the TCP official told Reuters from Karachi.

Talks between a Pakistani delegation and the Iraqi grain board were held earlier this week in Iraq. “In these talks the Iraqis proposed that we replace the wheat with a new shipment with zero per cent content of sand and stones,” the official said. “The TCP is now seeking to determine whether we can meet this request.”

He added: “Pakistan has only recently started wheat exports and we lack some of the extensive grain cleaning facilities held by other exporting countries.”

Iraq had indicated its interest in making more purchases in future, he said.

About 31,000 tons of the rejected wheat had been resold to the National Flour Mills of Dubai which was negotiating to buy the rest of the material.

“We think the willingness of such a company to buy this wheat also shows that the quality is good,” he said.—Reuters