ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: The government has declined to purchase 700,000 tons of wheat from Canada because of its being too expensive, it is learnt.

Canada had offered Pakistan to buy its wheat at $474.75 a ton or over Rs1,800 per 40kgs compared to the 2.5 million tons of red wheat the government has been importing from Russia at Rs1,200 to 1,400 a ton since August, shipment of which would be completed in October.

The finance ministry and relevant authorities had sought the opinion of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) on the Canadian offer. But, sources told Dawn that Minfal authorities informed the federal finance minister that there was no need to accept the offer as the Canadian wheat was $115 per ton more expensive than that of the Russian wheat.

Minfal had also warned the finance minister that acceptance of the offer might give air to speculations and allegations of possible kick-backs if the offer was accepted by Pakistan at a time when the country had many other venues to buy cheaper wheat.When contacted, Minfal’s agriculture development commissioner, Qadir Bakhsh Baloch, told Dawn that the Canadian offer was conditional and had to be accepted within 24 hours when it was floated on Sept 14.

He said the Minfal did not agree to the offer because with the upcountry transportation cost, the Canadian wheat might have become more expensive.

In response to a question, he said Pakistan was getting such offers from various countries, like Argentina and Brazil, on almost on daily basis, but an offer did not mean a deal.

He also said that the US had provided 50,000 tons of wheat to Pakistan in the shape of grant, dispelling the impression in some quarters that some people had accepted kick-backs while ordering import of wheat from the US.

Sources told Dawn that at present the provincial food departments and the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco) possessed around three million tons of wheat stocks.

The Minfal believes that after the completion of shipment of the Russian red wheat, Pakistan should not import wheat further.

But, Minfal has also informed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet that if the Punjab government kept on supplying wheat to flour mills at subsidised rate of Rs545 per 40 kgs than the Rs750-800 market price in the province, only Punjab may need import of two million tons of wheat further until the harvest of domestic wheat crop starts in March/April.

Minfal has strongly opposed the announcement of Ramazan package by the PML-N government in Punjab which has led to a more than 100 per cent difference in the price of wheat flour in the Punjab and the rest of the country.

Flour is being sold at Rs300 per 20kgs in Punjab’s rural areas, but the same quantity of the commodity costs Rs600 to 700 in the NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan. This, the Minfal believes, has led to hoarding and smuggling and was benefiting some big fish.

A Minfal official told Dawn that the food ministry had informed the prime minister and the ECC that it was in the best interest of the country’s farmers and the national food security to announce wheat support price next week well ahead of Eidul Fitr.