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Pakistan faces $30 million lawsuit for
rejecting Australian wheat
SYDNEY (April 13 2004): A Pakistani trading
company, whose shipments of Australian wheat were
rejected because of alleged contamination by a
fungus not found in Australia, is threatening a
30-million US dollars lawsuit against Pakistan, it
was reported on Monday.
The Australian newspaper said Karachi-based
importer, the Tradesman International, alleges the
real reason for the rejection of the shipments was
profiteering by corrupt Pak government officials.
Pakistani authorities refused to allow the four
shipments to be unloaded two months ago after
locally-administered tests allegedly detected the
fungal disease, Karnal bunt, which imparts a fishy
smell that makes the grain unfit for human
consumption.
Karnal bunt has never been detected in Australia
and Australian experts, who tested the grain, said
they found none in the shipment.
Fearing the dispute could undermine Australia's
3.5 billion dollars a year wheat export industry,
Prime Minister John Howard wrote personally to
President Pervez Musharraf asking him to have a
third country test the wheat, but Pakistan
declined.
The Tradesman International, a Pakistani company,
that bought the wheat for 23 million US dollars,
says the grain was subsequently, purchased by Sri
Lanka, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates,
proving there was no problem with it.
Tradesman International Chief Executive Haroon
Suleman also told the paper the Pakistani
government's subsequent decision not to seek
replacement shipments for the rejected cargoes
showed there were other motives behind the claims
of contamination.
Suleman said the real reason for the rejection was
that corrupt officials were profiting from a rise
in local wheat prices after news of a shortage
became public.
The price of wheat flour in Karachi markets rose
by some 50 percent in March, according to
Pakistani news reports.
"There were certain people in Pakistan who were
conniving with the stockists and the holders of
(Pakistani) wheat because there was a shortage,
and the wheat was sold in the markets at the
highest ever prices in the history of Pakistan",
said Suleman.
"We have charged them with negligence, nepotism,
and corruption in certain quarters of the
government", he added.
Suleman is demanding the return of a 1.0 million
US dollars bond Tradesman was obliged to lodge
with the government when it won the contract, and
which was forfeited on the grounds that the wheat
was not delivered.
Courtesy Business Recorder
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Pakissan.com; Advisory Point
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