First consignment of imported wheat due next week

After a two-year gap, the first consignment of imported wheat, booked by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) will reach Karachi next week, sources told Business Recorder. The TCP has imported the wheat with a view to curbing the rising prices in the local market.
They said that one ship. "Yick Hua" was carrying around 26,498 tonnes of Russian wheat, imported from Ukraine, would berth at Port Qasim on November 28. It may be recalled that the TCP floated first tender for the import of 100,000 tonnes of wheat on September 24 following the Federal government decision to import the some one million of tonnes of wheat to bring the prices down, they added.
However, only two parties appeared to submit the quotations for the import of 90,000 tonnes of wheat. Therefore, the first wheat tender by the TCP was allocated to the North Star, local agent of Broda, which is importing 50,000 tonnes at the price of 455 dollars per tonne.
The first consignment would reach next week, while the second consignment of some 23,500 tonnes of wheat would reach in mid-December. The sources said in all the TCP had issued three tenders for the import of wheat and had accepted the tender for the import of 508,000 tonnes of wheat, including 190,000 tonnes of red wheat (Russian) and some 318,000 tonnes of white wheat (USA or Canadian).
For the last few months, price of wheat in the local market had witnessed tremendous increase in the wheat prices due to shortfall in the crop and hoarding of the commodity by the some exporters and traders. The wheat price in the local market was raised by Rs 3,500 per tonnee to Rs 15,500 per tonne during the last six months, as against the previous price of Rs 12,000 per tonne in the May 2007.
Therefore, the Federal government has banned the export the wheat and allowed the TCP to import wheat. "Despite the huge import of wheat, its prices will not come down in the domestic market, as these consignments are being imported on higher rates," a leading trader Hashim Sharjahwala said. He said that because of international wheat shortage, the TCP was compelled to importing wheat at high rates, hence it was possible for local traders bring down the price.
He said: "The TCP is importing Russian wheat at 444.50-455 dollars per tonne." He said huge stocks of wheat had been hoarded by the some investors across the country, hoping that the government would not import further wheat, and they would mint money in case of any crisis.