Malawi government is canceling a fertilizer deal with a Saudi Arabian supplier after it was revealed the Saudi company has connections with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, Malawi's main newspaper The Nation reported on its website Thursday.

The report quoted Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe as saying this at the parliament Wednesday, when he stood to explain government efforts to deal with Malawi's current food shortage.

"We came to know of this news through an American based bank, Citi Bank, who refused to deal with the Saudis because they had al- Qaeda connections," Gondwe told the parliament.

The minister said government officials went all over the world looking for cheaper fertilizer that could be imported and identified the Saudis because their fertilizer was the cheapest.

He said government had not yet effected payment for the Saudi fertilizer and that the 30 million US dollars for purchasing the fertilizer was still at the country's central bank.

"We are now dealing with firms from Ukraine and Thailand," said Gondwe. He did not give the name of the Saudi company.

Opposition legislators cautioned government over its fertilizer importation deals warning that further delays would adversely affect the country's food production in the coming cropping season, which begins in November once the rains start.

Opposition members expressed their disappointment at how government was handling the food crisis and demanded that President Bingu Wa Mutharika should appear before the house to explain the situation.

With five million of its 11.6 million population in need of food aid, Malawi is among Southern African countries that are undergoing a food shortage affecting over 10 million people.

Source: Xinhua