In the wake of US sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has emphasized the need of buying wheat from the country.
The prime minister has also asked the authorities to work with China on a government-to-government (G2G) basis to offer discounts on urea imports.
China had offered to import urea on a deferred payment basis at 4.35 percent per year, or roughly $2.175 per ton per month.
During a recent cabinet meeting, the prime minister stressed that wheat imports from Russia must be on a G2G basis and that the quality of the crop consumed in Pakistan must be of a high grade.
Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, underlined that the US and EU sanctions did not apply to food goods and that the talks with Russian authorities on wheat imports were on a G2G basis.
She also informed the meeting participants that because these were not binding UN sanctions, the previous government’s allegation that Russia had promised to sell fuel oil at a 30% lower price had been followed up on, but no response had been received.
PM Shahbaz asked the industries and production secretary to contact Chinese officials and try to negotiate a possible discount on urea imports on a G2G basis.
The industries and production ministry had previously told the cabinet that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved the purchase of 200,000 tonnes on a G2G basis with the condition that the procurement is made on a delayed payment basis at its meeting on May 16.
The decision was later approved by the federal cabinet.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) told the meeting that it has approached Chinese state-owned firms for estimates on the delivery of granular urea in response to the ECC’s orders for the import of 200,000 tonnes of fertilizer.
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