ISLAMABAD: The first of nine ships, carrying 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia to Pakistan, reached the Gwadar port on Thursday, local media reported, citing Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Chairman Pasand Khan Buledi.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan's federal cabinet late last year accorded its approval for the import of 450,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia.
The approval, for the import of wheat at 372 dollars per metric tonne from February till March, was given after last year's deadly floods washed away standing crops on hundreds of thousands of acres in Pakistan.
“The first ship, MV Leela Chennai, has reached Gwadar port carrying 50,000 metric tons of wheat,” Buledi was quoted as saying by Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper on Thursday.
Pakistan will be importing the remaining 400,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia through eight other cargo ships.
"Arrangements had already been made under an agreement between Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and the Gwadar International Terminal Limited (GITL) to handle the wheat import," Buledi added.
Besides wheat, Pakistan this year signed agreements with Moscow to import cheap oil and gas as the South Asian country struggled to meet its energy needs due to a severe forex crunch.
In view of Pakistan’s deteriorating economic conditions and its forex reserves depleting to critically low levels, Russia also said it would allow Islamabad to pay for energy imports in currencies of friendly countries.
