The Indian firm, which had won the tender for supply of 50,000 tons white sugar to Pakistan, has failed to meet the March 31 deadline as the consignment had not reached Karachi till the filing of this report, according to TCP sources.
Sources said that the Exim Corporation, the Indian firm which had won the tender for 50,000 tons sugar, had failed to meet the deadline, while the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had earlier announced that it had issued a tender to buy 50,000 tons white sugar from India, with shipment due in March.
Commenting on this delay, TCP Chairman Asif Zaman Ansari said, "They (Exim Corporation) have not yet contacted to let TCP know about the causes of delay." However, he said, if the firm could not meet the deadline, penalty which has been clearly shown in the tender, would be slapped."
He, however, dispelled the impression that Exim Corporation had not met the deadline, saying that the bidder would have to bring the commodity within five weeks after opening of LC, and the firm "still has time".
Earlier an official of TCP, while issuing the tender, had said, "The winning bidder should make shipment through sea, rail or land routes within 15 days of the opening of LC."
Sources in the Ministry of Commerce said that the shipment by Exim Corporation would not meet the TCP deadline and the commodity would reach Karachi port by the second week of April.