Pakistan has decided to
carefully examine the impact of sanctions against Iran before the sale of a
million tonnes of wheat (initial deal is only for 100,000 tonnes) under barter
trade deal at $300 per tonne.
According to sources, the
ECC in its meeting on March 13 had constituted a committee headed by the then
Minister for Water and Power (now Defence Minister) to explore the possibility
of barter arrangements between Pakistan and Iran for export of one million tonnes
of wheat.
The Ministers for National
Food Security and Research and Capital Administration and Development visited
Iran from July 14-16 as special envoys of the President. They met with Iranian
Ministers for Industry, Mining and Trade and Petroleum and finalised a deal for
the sale from Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation’s (Passco) stocks in exchange for urea fertilizer from Iran.
Pakistan team suggested a
price of $349 per tonne, while the Iranian side offered $300 per tonne for the
first 100,000 tonnes.
The Iranian side also
argued that India was offering wheat at a much lower price. In April this year,
the Iranian side had offered $275 per tonne and desired a response by August 5.
The Prime Minister accorded
his approval and directed that a summary be submitted to the ECC of the
Cabinet. Subsequently, ex-post facto approval of the ECC of the Cabinet was
solicited to the proposal for considering the Iranian offer.