January 20, 2002	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 5, 1422

ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: With an export order of 500,000 tons next season from Iraq, the government offered on Saturday a fresh scheme to private sector to export wheat surplus of 1.3 million tons by April 30, 2002.

Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood, Privatization Minister Altaf Saleem and Food Minister Khair Mohammad Junejo speaking at a joint news conference said that the decision has been made to cut public sector’s inherent weaknesses of high incidental charges and slow process in exports.

Under the scheme, exportable surplus would be sold by the public sector agencies like Passco and TCP through multiple tenders of 5,000 tons for which procedure would be laid down next week. The results of bids would be submitted to the ministerial committee headed by Altaf Saleem on daily basis for regular monitoring and implementation.

Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood said that Pakistan has so far exported 731,000 tons of wheat since beginning of current season in May last year while 689,000 tons of orders were currently in hand taking the total to 1.42 million tons.

Another 1.3 million tons export has to be accelerated through these tendering to dispose of the total exportable surplus of 2.7 million tons before April 30, 2002. This acceleration was necessary because the new crop is getting ready and Passco and Punjab government did not have enough warehouses to store fresh commodity.

Privatization Minister Altaf Saleem, who is heading the ministerial committee constituted by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on wheat export, said that export through tenders would reduce incidental charges which are normally very high in the public sector at around $60 per ton and increase net sale proceeds to the government.

He said the export procedure, to be finalized next week, would ensure that wheat purchase from these lots were exported at all costs

Food minister Khair Mohammad Junejo said that current stocks stood at 5.3 million tons in addition to one million tons of strategic reserves. He did not foresee any shortage in the next season as current crop was very good.

To a question, Junejo said that Pakistan’s wheat quality was very popular abroad but the only problems was that it was not refine. He said that the government would procure 4 million tons of wheat in the coming season to stabilise prices.

He said that floor mills and private sector had been directed on Friday to concentrate on export of finished products abroad to utilize their surplus capacity. The commerce minister said that Iraq has told Pakistan it would give in an order of 500,000 tons for the next crop. However, he replied in negative when asked whether it was a confirm order.

He said that Pakistan exported 28,000 tons to Iraq while it rejected another order of 62,000 tons that was sold there (Iraq) through open tender. Iraq had, however, asked Pakistan to ensure replacement of this commodity that would also be ensured by April 30 this year.

He said that another Pakistan specific order of 35,000 tons from Iraq could not be exported due to specifications. But since it was a Pakistan specific order and Iraqi officials were told that these were not specifications of Pakistani commodity, the misunderstanding has now been removed and commodity would be delivered to Baghdad shortly.

He said that Iran has also expressed its willingness to import wheat from Pakistan but it has not yet placed any order.