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Journalism of Courage
So much for the urgency on wheat imports. Four days after MV Split, the vessel despatched by the Australian Wheat Board with 92,000 tonnes of wheat, reached Indian waters, it is yet to receive the government8217;s plant protection quarantine PPQ certificate, which would allow it to berth at Tuticorin and offload its cargo.
Meanwhile, another shipment of 48,000 tonnes of wheat is expected to arrive at Chennai from Russia on August 6.
Tuticorin Port Trust chairman N K Reghupathy, however, was confident that the Australian ship would be berthing soon. 8216;8216;We don8217;t see any problems in the MV Split8217;s cargo receiving the PPQ certification. This is just a formality,8217;8217; he said.
Interestingly, wheat imports from Australia were suspended in April, when Indian authorities objected to the presence of 8216;8216;more than the permissible levels8217;8217; of pesticide and ergot8212;a fungal pathogen8212;in a 50,855 tonne-wheat consignment from AWB, Australia8217;s monopoly wheat exporter.
In its February import tender for five lakh tonnes of wheat, the State Trading Corporation of India had insisted that the shipment be completely free of ergot.
However, the dispute was resolved after India scaled down its stipulations regarding pesticides and blurred its zero tolerance line on ergot and dwarf bunt to accept traces 0.001 per cent for ergot and 0.005 per cent to dwarf bunt. Subsequently, in April, 92,000 tonnes of wheat were supplied at Chennai and Tuticorin Ports.
So far as the new arrivals are concerned, PPQ officials and the Port public health officer drew samples of the AWB wheat when the ship anchored mid-sea off Tuticorin on July 30.
These samples will be checked to ensure that the consignment meets the stipulations with regard to weeds, damages and pesticides residual. The report will then be sent to the Plant Protection Adviser to Government of India, Dr P S Chandurkar, said a Port official.
Based on the assessment by the Adviser, the Centre would grant sanction for the ship to berth at the port and offload its consignment.
Incidentally, the relaxation of the stipulation on pesticide and pathogen traces to Codex norms facilitated countries like the US, Russia, Canada and the EU to bid for the global tender for 35 lakh tonnes of wheat, floated by the STC in May.
The imports were to meet the buffer requirement for the Public Distribution System in view of lower wheat production and procurement this year.
While the AWB will bring in another consignment of five lakh tonnes of wheat, three lakh tonnes are expected from Russia. The STC has also finalised bids for another 22 lakh tones of wheat.
The imports will meet the wheat needs of South India, besides Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
