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Big Pak wheat crop may hurt sales: AWB

SYDNEY: Australia's national wheat exporter AWB Ltd said a big wheat harvest in Pakistan may hurt sales to one of its largest export markets.

AWB was monitoring developments with the Pakistan crop, a spokeswoman said.

AWB was doing "good business" with the country this year.

"If the (harvest) forecast pans out obviously it will not be a great one for us next season but it's too early to tell," she said.

Pakistan imported 1.6 million tonnes of wheat in the current fiscal year that ends in June, but decided last month not to import an additional 700,000 tonnes even though there was government approval.

Of total imports, 1.2 million tonnes were imported from Australia and 400,000 tonnes from the United States.

Pakistan's Agriculture Minister Shafqat Jamote said recently that Pakistan had no plans to import wheat in the fiscal year beginning July because of higher domestic output and better distribution.

"My hope is that we don't import (wheat)...our intention is not to import," Jamote told a news conference in Karachi this week.

Jamote said the harvest could hit 20 million tonnes in the current fiscal year, surpassing domestic demand of up to 19 million tonnes.

Pakistan had a wheat crop of 18 million tonnes in the fiscal year ended June 1999, with total imports that year at 3.2 million tonnes.-Reuters