However, Iran has refused to buy refined sugar from Pakistan, saying that it needs only raw sugar.

On Friday, Minister for Water and Power, Syed Naveed Qamar, presided over a high level meeting and directed PASSCO to finalise the modalities for export of one million tons of wheat to Iran on the basis of talks held at Tehran between Pakistani and Iranian authorities last month.

Qamar is the head of a sub-committee of ECC constituted to oversee export of surplus wheat and rice to Iran. Wheat’s international price hovers around $270-275 per ton.

According to the Minister the government has already taken a principle decision to export one million tons surplus wheat from PASSCO stocks, besides export of rice under barter trade arrangement.

“Pakistan had offered to dispatch wheat consignments through land route but Iran did not agree with the proposal saying that wheat should be sent through sea,” the sources maintained.

Iran has expressed its desire to import both the items from Pakistan and in exchange urea will be imported from there. He was of the views that the modalities should be finalised at the earliest so that first tranche of Wheat may be exported and urea imported. Timely import of urea from Iran will benefit the farmers as Kharif season is starting shortly.

Earlier, the Secretary National Food Security, Shafqat Naghmi, briefed the meeting on the details of their meeting with Iranian authorities held last month and stated that the wheat would be exported and urea would be imported via sea. Pakistan will import the urea quantity against the total price of wheat to be exported to Iran.

The Minister of Water and Power said that the formal approval will be taken from ECC next week to export the commodity. —MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN