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Russia wheat to be imported against cash | The Express Tribune
Barter trade had earlier been proposed due to sanctions imposed by West
tribune.com.pk
Pakistan on Saturday decided to directly import two million metric tonnes of wheat from Russian on cash while dropping a barter trade plan, as it also approved Rs160 billion supplementary grants to ensure uninterrupted supply of food, fuel and electricity.
The decisions were taken by the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet that approved Rs62.3 billion more for payments of fuel subsidies, Rs50 billion to reduce power outages and over Rs36 billion for giving targeted subsidies to the poorest families and paying for the subsidised essential commodities at the Utility Stores.
The ECC also temporarily waived off additional customs duties on import of edible oil to incentivise the suppliers to fast track the shipments in June. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail presided over the ECC meeting.
“The ECC allowed import of two million metric tonnes of wheat on a government-to-government basis'' from Russia, stated the finance ministry. The Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will be the recipient agency for the imported wheat from Russia as per the existing arrangement.
The Ministry of National Food Security had proposed that the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Commerce should jointly explore the possibility of barter trade with Russia due to sanctions imposed by the West.
However, there are no sanctions on the import of grains from Russia but the government would have to work out a mechanism to make the payments after Moscow has been thrown out of the global payments clearing system –the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift).
This month the federal cabinet had allowed import of three million metric tonnes of wheat, including one million metric tonnes, through international open tenders.
The wheat output decreased by one million metric tonnes to 26.4 million metric tonnes this year but the consumption is estimated at 30.4 million tonnes. Pakistan faces four million metric tonnes of wheat shortage, as global prices soar due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Accordingly, the first international tender for import of 500,000 metric tonnes of wheat was issued on May 16 for shipments in June-July 2022. As per bid evaluation committee report, the lowest responsive bid came from M/s Falconbridge Resources at the rate of $515.49 per metric tonne.
As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS),the per 40kg cost of domestically available wheat is Rs2,511 or Rs63 per kilo – whereas the estimated landed cost at port of imported wheat offered comes to Rs4,618 per 40kg or Rs115 per kilo, which is Rs2,106.88 per 40kg higher than the domestically available wheat.
The ECC also approved Rs7.3 billion bridge financing for supply of wheat flour at Rs40 per kilo in Punjab. The Punjab government cannot approve any subsidy amount