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ISLAMABAD: Government to government (G2G) imports of wheat from Russia at lowest prices were thwarted by red tape, a report in Express Tribune revealed on Sunday.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) ignored the cheaper offer from Russia under G2G. The contract was accepted by the economic decision-making body after the lowest bidder in the tender offered a price of $373 per ton, while $384 per ton was the price provided by the second-lowest bidder.
However, Russia had offered a price of $372 per ton for the import of 300,000 metric tons of wheat, lower than the price quoted by the lowest bidder, the report revealed.
Moreover, the relevant ministry responsible for imports of wheat failed to even inform the ECC of the Russian offer. Instead, it was disclosed to the group that makes economic decisions that the talks with Russia have not yet reached a conclusion. This is despite the fact that Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, had commissioned research into the possibility of importing wheat on a G2G basis in order to conserve foreign reserves.
