Aussie wheat to India held back due to bad quality

MELBOURNE: Indian government has held back consignments of four lakh tonnes of wheat imports by the Australian exporter AWB due to quarantine concerns, media reports said here on Thursday.

Several shipment due to leave ports in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria are on hold because of Indian authorities' concerns about the quality of some of the grain already delivered, the reports said.

Reacting to the development, AWB spokesman Peter McBride said, "these delays have mainly occurred due to stringent quality specifications in the contract."

"We're currently working through this issue with our Indian customers, the Indian Government and AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service)," he said.

McBride denied reports that the remainder of 5 lakh tonnes shipment of the USD 90 million contract with India has been cancelled.

About one lakh tonne of the contract has been delivered so far to the southern Indian ports of Tuticorin and Chennai, he said.

Media reports said AWB appears to be expecting a long delay for the remaining shipment, with the company looking for alternative markets for much of the grain while it sorts out the problem with Indian authorities.

"We had some vessels in Western Australia and South Australia and Victoria and we're currently looking at alternative markets for some of these vessels to obviously reduce costs while we continue to work through the issue with our customer," McBride said.