March 18, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 14, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 17: The Wheat Disposal Committee (WDC) has allowed PASSCO to export around 300,000 tons of wheat till the arrival of next crop.

An official source in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock told Dawn that the decision was taken in the meeting of WDC here on Monday.

The meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Agriculture Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind and attended by relevant stakeholders.

According to the official, the Sindh Food Department, however, has withdrawn its demand of exporting around 50,000 tons of wheat.

The meeting also approved the policy that PASSCO would export wheat out of 300,000 tons to Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The official said that the exact quantity was not worked out for export to these countries and would be subject to demand from these countries.

The meeting also decided to accept only the lowest bid received for wheat cleaning charges.