KARACHI, Dec 11: A six-member Iranian delegation on Tuesday held talks with the officials of Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) regarding the quality aspects of wheat import from Pakistan.

Director TCP Abdul Malik told APP that the delegation was led by Director Plant Protection Organization, Ministry of Agriculture Iran, Morteza Sokhansanj.

Malik said that the delegation is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood. The minister extended the invitation during his visit to Iran for inspecting the various steps being adopted in the procurement, storage, transportation and export of wheat from Pakistan.

The delegation had already held talks with Pakistani officials including Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood and Food and Agriculture Minister Khair Mohammad Jonejo, besides visiting research centres, testing laboratories of PCSIR, NARC and PASSCO, agriculture fields, storage facilities in Islamabad, Lahore and Agriculture University Faisalabad.

He said that the delegation has also visited 20 experimental wheat cultivation fields in Pakistan under National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) and they have been told that no wheat variety is allowed for cultivation in the country unless it is approved after so many trials.

Malik said that the delegation will submit its report to Iranian Agriculture Ministry about their findings during the visit to Pakistan regarding quarantine issues. If this report is positive, Iran will place the order for the purchase of wheat from Pakistan, he added.

It may be recalled that Iran had put on hold an import order for 200,000 tons of wheat from Pakistan, on quarantine reasons.

Iran has reportedly said that a crop disease known as “karnal bunt” has migrated from India to the wheat fields in neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Malik said that there are possibilities of exporting 500,000 tons of wheat to Iran if quarantine issue is resolved.

The delegation also visited the laboratories of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Grain Storage Laboratories and Plant Protection Department in Malir.

Meanwhile, the Commercial Attache of Consulate General of Iran has said that his country was seriously considering to import four million tons wheat and about one million tons of rice from Pakistan.

He stated this during a Iftar dinner hosted by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for diplomats of Islamic countries.—APP