KARACHI (February 18 2004): The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) has relaxed storage charges for 150,000 tonnes of wheat, to be imported from Australia by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal).

The first vessel, carrying 40,000 tonnes of wheat, is due to arrive at Port Qasim on Thursday.

The PQA sources said on Tuesday that 10 demurrage-free days had been granted to the wheat consignments instead of seven under rules by the Ministry of Communications at the request of the Minfal.

Under the PQA tariff, the demurrage-free days are counted after the discharge of 50 percent of the cargo in question.

This is the first time in several years that extra demurrage-free days have been allowed on imports.

The concession was earlier granted to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) on export of wheat in view of the time consumed in processing of the commodity through fumigation etc to make it acceptable to the buyers.

The modalities of the discharge and transportation of imported wheat, which would be distributed among Sindh and NWFP provinces to ward off the impending shortage of wheat, were discussed at a meeting in Karachi between the representatives of the PQA, Pakistan Agriculture Supply and Storage Corporation (Passco) and the two provincial governments.

A Passco official disclosed that the wheat would not be allowed to be discharged unless its quality was tested in standard laboratories of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).

Under the terms and conditions of the agreement, the supplier would withdraw the full vessel load of the consignment of wheat if its quality were not found up to the mark. The condition applied by Passco for the acceptance of wheat is identical to the one adopted by the former Iraqi government, which had rejected a few wheat consignments exported by Pakistan on the basis of quality.

Under the agreement, the vessels, arriving with wheat, would be stopped at the outer anchorage and samples would be taken out for laboratory tests. Once the quality of the commodity is okayed, the vessel would be given a berth at Port Qasim for the discharge.

The three vessels, carrying 40,000 tonnes of wheat each, will be arriving at Port Qasim on February 19, 20, and 25. The schedule of the last vessel has not been announced.

Courtesy Business Recorder