Pakistani farmers are not averse to trade with India but expect to be protected against the highly subsidised mammoth agricultural base of India.
Harvest Trading CEO Member Export ICCI Ahmad Jawad on Thursday said that “we believe in trade diplomacy and peace is vital for a long term relationship. It is a matter of satisfaction that both India and Pakistan are moving forward in the right direction through the composite dialogue framework. However Agriculture is the back bone of our economy and Pakistani Farmers are not against trade with India but they expect to be protected against the highly subsidised agriculture products of India”.
On average, one agricultural hectare is granted an annual subsidy of $300 in India. This works out to be around Rs 11,900 per acre of subsidy. Indian farmers have a comparative advantage of Rs 400 per 40kg on average. Jawad feared that the balance of trade was tilting towards India and greater people-to-people contacts were essential to channelize bilateral trade in an efficient manner. He hoped that Pakistan would secure GSP Plus in EU by 2014.
Currently, the non tariff barriers being faced by Pakistani exporters are creating enormous hurdles in bridging the trust deficit. However, recent measures adopted by the Indian government are encouraging and being lauded in Pakistan. Jawad urged the governments of both countries to provide adequate infrastructure and modern integrated check-posts at the Khokrapar-Monabao border at the earliest to further increase bilateral trade on the pattern of Wagah-Attari border.
