The Hindu Business Line : Govt confirms resumption of wheat imports from Australia

The Union Government on Friday confirmed that wheat imports from Australia have resumed following resolution of a dispute over presence of ergot (a fungal pathogen) in shipments.

The State Trading Corporation of India had, in its February 20 import tender for five lakh tonnes (lt), stipulated that the shipments be completely free of ergot. After supplying 92,000 lt in the Chennai and Tuticorin ports in April, AWB Ltd (Australia's monopoly wheat exporter, which bagged the tender) terminated shipments of the balance quantities, citing that it was not in a position to meet the zero ergot-tolerance condition. As a result, the delivery of over four lt got stuck, despite the original tender stipulating that the arrivals be completed by mid-May.

But now, it seems that the dispute has been resolved. "By mid-August, four more shipments aggregating 1,61,500 tonnes are expected to arrive in Chennai, Tuticorin, Vizag and Kochi," an official spokesperson said. Similarly, for the second eight-lt contract, two vessels containing 60,000 tonnes and 68,000 tonnes will land in Mumdra port by end-July.

Delivery schedule

The spokesperson also gave the delivery schedule for import of pulses by parastatal agencies. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) had on June 18 floated tenders for 5,000 tonnes each of arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black matpe) and mungbean (green gram) of Myanmar-origin. These would arrive at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by the end of this month.

Contracts have also been entered for another 25,000 tonnes of urad and 5,000 tonnes of mung, of which 15,000 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes, respectively will come in by end-July and the balance by mid-August.

PEC tenders

In addition, PEC Ltd has floated import tenders for 81,000 tonnes, which will close on July 11. This includes 45,000 tonnes of urad (15,000 tonnes each at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata), 15,000 tonnes of mung (5,000 tonnes each), 15,000 tonnes of arhar (5,000 tonnes each) and 6,000 tonnes of chana (2,000 tonnes each). "We also expect MMTC Ltd to float tenders shortly. That would considerably ease the supply situation in pulses", the spokesperson added.

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