MULTAN, Dec 19: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has returned the performance bond and other guarantees to the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) instead of forfeiting them as it had refused to supply the required wheat.

The AWB had earlier offered bids for supply of 84,000 tons of Australian wheat (white) and had submitted a performance bond of $2,149,350 -- five per cent of the tender price of $42,987,000.

The AWB had offered bid at $527 per ton on Nov 19. The tender was issued to the AWB at $511.75 after matching the price instead of awarding it to the parties offering lower rates.

Although the AWB did not supply wheat on Dec 14, it demanded return of the performance bond, and the TCP did it on Dec 17.

The AWB had earlier promised to expedite shipment within a week from any Australian port.

But it later informed the TCP that as the AQUIS doesn’t conduct certification of the conditions attached to the import permit issued by the Plant Protection Department, the conditions in the import permit be withdrawn.

The AWB had also referred to Clause 12, sub-clause-C part III of the tender documents which state that the certification for phyto-sanitary and quarantine at load port issued by the government agency of the country origin shall be final and binding, with no inspection or testing at the discharge port, but the ministry for food, agriculture and livestock refused the request of the AWB on Dec 8 because as per terms of the wheat import tender (based on 2004 wheat import tender of TCP) Clause (C ) of 12, “the official testing agencies of the country of export (e.g, FGIS/APHIS in the US, CGC/CFIA in Canada, AFT/AQUIS in Australia, etc) were required to conduct tests for all the factors of the specifications.

The ministry had taken stand that conditions cannot be withdrawn for a single party, and the matter was also taken up with the Plant Protection Department by the TCP which informed that it was beyond their competence to waive the said conditions in the import permit.

Meanwhile, the TCP has again granted a permit to the AWB for supply of Russian wheat, and one ship is due to reach the Karachi Port on Wednesday.

The minister for food, agriculture and livestock is expected to receive the ship.

Abdul Malik, TCP chairman, was not available for comments.