CANBERRA (March 12 2004): Australia was deeply disappointed with Pakistan's rejection of a plea to hold more tests on 150,000 tonnes of wheat that Pakistan said was contaminated, the Australian government said on Thursday.

The Pakistan cabinet turned down the Australian request to re-examine the Australian wheat, saying late on Wednesday it stood by its scientists' tests that found the grain contaminated.

The grain would be rejected, Pakistan said.

"The Australian government has again rejected any suggestion that a 150,000 tonne consignment of wheat to Pakistan contains the fungal disease Karnal bunt," Trade Minister Mark Vaile and Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said in a statement.

The ministers called on Pakistan to correct its reported claims, reiterated that tests in Australia, New Zealand and Britain had shown the wheat did not have Karnal bunt, and said an independent test in a third country was the appropriate way to resolve the issue.

"Reflections on our farmers' hard-earned clean and green, disease-free status are taken very seriously by the Australian government and industry," the ministers said.

Australian scientists participated in the testing in Pakistan and they were confident it was disease-free and maintained Australia does not have Karnal bunt disease, a spokesman for Truss said earlier on Thursday.

"The Australian government will be strongly requesting that that difference of view over the science be tested in an independent, third country such as the United States or Britain...with independent DNA testing," he said.

Australia, the world's second-largest wheat exporter after the United States, normally exports about 16 million tonnes worth about A$4 billion ($3 billion) a year.

The spokesman said the Australian government had not yet received any formal advice from Pakistan about its decision but it maintained the wheat was disease-free and would seek testing by an independent country.

The wheat was bought by Pakistani firm Tradesman International, which sold it to state-run Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corp (PASSCO) for around $34 million.

PASSCO rejected four cargoes of the grain last week after a re-examination indicated the grain was contaminated with Karnal bunt disease, which is not harmful to humans but discolours the grain, creates a foul odour and typically causes rejection by importing nations.

Australia's monopoly wheat exporter, AWB Ltd, said that it was waiting for official confirmation of the rejection.

"If it does occur we will assist Tradesman in on-selling the wheat," spokesman Peter McBride said.

Courtesy Daily Business Recorder