STAFF REPORT IBD: A barter trade deal between Iran and Pakistan still seems to be too far away, after Tehran expressed its unwillingness to accept Pakistani wheat containing karnal bunt or Tilletia Indica.
“Iran had expressed its reservations to a Pakistani delegation, who visited Tehran on April 26, about the quality of Pakistani wheat,” Secretary for National Food Security and Research (NFSandR) Shafqat Hussain Nagmi and Managing Director of Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco), Major-General Sohail Shafkat informed the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Food Security.
The delegation had visited Iran to finazlise the barter deal between the two countries.
Shafqat told the committee that Pakistan would export a million ton of wheat to Iran at the rate of $275 per ton Freight On Board (FOB) Karachi, but we are still waiting for Iranian response to fix the rate of urea to be imported from Iran.
He feared that Pakistan-Iran barter trade deal could be delayed, as Iran had still not determined the urea price, besides failed to maintain effective co-ordination with Pakistan in this regard.
“We had also provided its samples to Iranian authorities during the visit,” he explained.