Ship carrying 50,000 metric tonnes of Russian wheat arrives at Gwadar port

The first ship, carrying 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia to Pakistan, arrived at the Gwadar port on Thursday.

The import of 450,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia received approval from the federal cabinet's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) last year.

The approval was given after Pakistan's severe flooding last year destroyed standing crops on hundreds of thousands of acres, at a price of $372 per metric tonne from February to March.

According to Pasand Khan Buledi, chairman of the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), the first ship arrived in the port of Gwadar with 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat.

Eight additional cargo ships will transport Pakistan's remaining 400,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia.

According to a contract between the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and the Gwadar International Terminal Limited (GITL), preparations had already been taken to handle the import of wheat.

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.