The US Department of Agriculture has taken up the matter with the Secretary of Minfal, said sources.
Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supply Corporation (Passco) has invited tender for the import of 150,000 tonnes of wheat but the specification of wheat provided into the tender and terms and conditions were widely criticised in the country.
Wheat traders said that the terms and conditions set by the Minfal only suit to the Australian Wheat Board and the traditional main competitors like USA and Canada were kept away from it.
The conditions of delivery by 15th February 2004, at Port Qasim makes it impossible for US, Canadian and European suppliers to even contemplate offering as the date which Passco has specified makes it abundantly clear that only the Australian Wheat Board can meet, said a wheat trader.
One of the main contentions are the terms of payment whereby Passco has specified 95 percent payment on the basis of the loading port quantity and quality and the balance 5 percent to be released on the basis of the results obtained by the inspectors at the discharge port.
These terms are typical of the Iraqi Grain Board terms where it is now apparent that it was used as leverage to extract extraordinary payments outside of the contract, commented a wheat trader.
These terms never existed in the past Minfal's tender and is mystery why such conditions were laid out in the current tender, said wheat traders.