Prior to the upcoming crop season, which may be postponed due to the impact of this year’s floods, the finance ministry said on Monday that it has approved the import of 450,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia.
According to a statement from the ministry, the Russian wheat will be bought on a government-to-government basis during February and March. The offer from the Russian state corporation Prodintorg at $372 per tonne was authorised, according to the statement, during a meeting of the ministry’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) held under Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The ECC also accepted the lowest proposal from M/s Cereal Crop Trading LLC for the supply of 130,000 tonnes to Karachi port for the shipment period from December 16, 2022, to February 8, 2023, at a rate of $372 per tonne under an earlier award. Where the wheat will be imported was not specified.
In July and August, Pakistan was devastated by floods that resulted in losses of more than 30 billion dollars and severe damage to four million acres of stored and standing crops. For several weeks, fields in a sizable portion of southern Pakistan were flooded. For several weeks, fields in a sizable portion of southern Pakistan were flooded.
Earlier in the day, Russia decided to provide Pakistan with reduced crude oil, gasoline, and diesel, according to State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated earlier this month that Islamabad intends to join the petroleum import agreement with Moscow on conditions identical to those decided by New Delhi, despite the United States resistance to Pakistan’s purchase of Russian oil.
According to two individuals familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, Malik and the petroleum secretary traveled to Russia last week for talks on topics such as the supply of gas and oil.