KARACHI (February 25 2004): Australian analysts are heading to Pakistan to help examine wheat cargoes that Pakistani authorities say are contaminated with the Karnal bunt fungus, an official said on Tuesday.

Two cargoes, totalling around 80,000 tons, were rejected by Pakistan on Monday, with Agriculture Minister Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind saying they were contaminated not only by fungus, but also by insects and sand.

On Tuesday, Australia's monopoly wheat exporter AWB Ltd rejected the claim, saying Karnal bunt disease was not found in Australia and the wheat was clean. AWB spokesman Peter McBride said the wheat was loaded under the supervision of Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and checked by London-based testing, inspection and certification agency Intertek Caleb Brett.

A Pakistani government official said the Australian team comprising wheat experts and officials was due on Wednesday. "It will assist Pakistani authorities in examining the rejected cargoes," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The rejected cargoes were part of a 150,000 ton tender issued by the Pakistan government in December. Tradesman International, a Pakistani firm, bought the grain from the Australian Wheat Board and sold it to the state-run Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corp at $224 per ton C&F. The first two cargoes reached Karachi's port Qasim last week.

Mr Rind said the government would consider any request by the Australians to re-examine the rejected cargoes. The minister would meet the Australian high commissioner on Wednesday to discuss the issue, officials said.

"If they can prove that cargoes are not infected by the Karnal bunt and are up to our specifications, we will welcome that," Mr Rind told Reuters. "But our tests have proved that these cargoes are not according to our specifications."-Reuters.

DAWN