SYDNEY,March 18: Negotiations were well advanced for on-selling four cargoes of Australian wheat rejected by Pakistan authorities, a Pakistani shipping official and the Karachi importer of the wheat said on Wednesday.

The four ships, carrying 150,000 tonnes of wheat, would most likely go to the Middle East and the Far East, a senior Pakistani shipping industry official told Reuters in Singapore by telephone. "The cargoes will probably start moving in the next 48 hours. The deals with new buyers have almost been finalised," added the official, who declined to be identified.

The wheat shipment was rejected by Pakistan in the third week of February on the grounds it was infected by Karnal bunt disease, which is not harmful to humans but gives off a foul-smelling odour, a claim strongly denied by Australia.

Pakistani importer, Tradesman International, which now owns the wheat, told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio it was costing almost US$100,000 a day to keep the wheat offshore, but did not disclose where it was likely to be on-sold. Australian wheat industry sources and the agriculture department on Wednesday downplayed recent trade speculation.

The News International, Pakistan