A state agency in Pakistan has issued a tender to export 500,000 tonnes of wheat under a new government export subsidy programme, European traders said on Friday. The tender was issued by Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) and invites immediate offers for consignments of at least 30,000 tonnes for export by sea.
The wheat export process must be completed in by July 31, they said. The government in April approved the export of an additional 500,000 tonnes of wheat with a subsidy of $155 per tonne.
A bumper crop last year and large stocks prompted the government to introduce an export subsidy scheme in January which has led to a series of large export sales. A cabinet committee in December had approved a programme to export 2 million tonnes of wheat in the current financial year, with 1.5 million tonnes to come from the state of Punjab and 500,000 tonnes from the state of Sindh.
Wheat in the latest tender can be exported to all countries including Bangladesh.
"I think there is likely to be brisk demand for the wheat from buyers in areas such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, East Africa, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates," one European trader said.