ISLAMABAD, May 8: With a bumper crop this year Pakistan is likely to export up to one million tons of wheat to India through rail and sea routes, Dawn has learnt.

“The government has already allowed the private sector to export up to 500,000 tons of wheat that India could import by sea or by rail,” Secretary Food and Agriculture Muhammad Ismail Qureshi told Dawn. He said the total wheat export could reach up to a million tons this year.

He said India had floated tenders for import of a million tons of wheat and that Pakistan’s private sector would be in a better position to compete with international wheat prices due to its lower transportation costs. Also, there is no tax or duties on export of wheat, he added.

Agricultural Development Commissioner Qadir Bakhsh Baloch told Dawn that this was the first time that Pakistan had allowed wheat export to India. Last week, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had formally approved the export of 500,000 tons of wheat to neighbouring countries, including India and Afghanistan.

The government is moving carefully with export projections so that domestic wheat and flour prices are not increased artificially by black marketers, another official said, adding that domestic prices could crash down to less than Rs425 per 40 kg if exports are delayed.

“We will announce a new plan for more wheat exports after finalisation of crop figures,” Minister for Food Sikandar Hayat Bosan said last week.

The government is expecting wheat production to convincingly exceed 23 million tons, surpassing the current 22.5 million-ton target. Last year, the country had produced 21.7 million tons of wheat. Domestic wheat consumption is little over 22 million tons. The country also has carry-over stocks of about 1.5-2 million tons from last year.

Mr Baloch said the private sector had been asked to procure 300,000 tons of wheat from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supply Corporation (Passco) and 400,000 tons from the Punjab food department. He claimed that Pakistan had a confirmed demand of one million tons of wheat from India.

Sources said the State Trading Corporation of India had floated wheat import tenders of one million tons to meet its rising demands. Besides, transportation costs, India would also save on time by importing wheat from Pakistan via Lahore and Karachi to Delhi and Mumbai through the rail and sea routes.