KARACHI, Oct 19: Pakistan, struggling to finalize a wheat export deal with Iraq, aims to replace 52,000 tons of rejected grain after receiving new quality guidelines from Baghdad, a commerce ministry official said on Friday.

“We are willing to provide them the replacement...they also agreed to provide us new specifications on cargo quality,” the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. But the official added that it would be hard for Pakistan to ship a cargo with zero per cent of impurities.

Talks between officials of the commerce ministry and the Iraqi grain board were held earlier this week in Iraq.

Earlier this month, Iraq rejected 45,000 tons of a consignment of Pakistani wheat, saying it contained more dust and sand particles than was specified in the agreement.

The official said Iraq would send its new specifications on cargo quality soon, but had indicated that it would “not accept even point one per cent foreign matters (sand and dust particles) in the cargo.”

“We had shipped wheat according to the specifications mentioned in the contract...but now they are saying that they will not accept any inorganic matter in the cargo,” the official said.

Pakistan, a relative newcomer as a wheat exporter, signed a deal with Iraq last March for 100,000 tons of wheat under the UN programme for Iraq.

Iraq had extended the shipment period to 90 days to replace the rejected wheat, but the official said it would be very difficult for Pakistan to ship a cargo with zero per cent impurities.

“We are a new entrant in the wheat trade...have no past experience, it will be very difficult task for us,” he added.

Pakistan, which had exported over 700,000 tons of wheat up to September, plans to export over one million tons of grains in 2001/2002 (June-July).

Pakistan produced 18.9 million tons of wheat in its 2000/01 crop and has 3.5 million tons stockpiled from the previous year’s bumper harvest of 22 million tons.

The country’s annual wheat demand is 20.3 million tons.—Reuters