Indian exports to Pakistan were worth Rs 50,000 million, whereas exports from Pakistan to India stood at Rs 9,000 million during the last five years, said SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Pakistan Chapter Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik.
Malik said during the period 2007-08 to 2012, Indian goods exported to Pakistan included items like newsprint, vegetables, soybean, spices etc. while Pakistan exported dry fruit, cement, salt, rock salt, raw gypsum, soda ash etc. to India.
He said the balance of land trade was five times in favour of India during the said period at Wagah border, Lahore.
Malik said according to a bilateral agreement, both countries could export to each other 137 items at zero duty except 5 percent custom duty and 16 % sales tax on poly propylene granules.
He said under Afghan transit trade to India, a total of 2,425 trucks loaded with dry fruits and pulses crossed to India through Wagah during the last nine months.
He further said Pakistan and India, with the support From their respective private sectors, must take historic steps to normalize bilateral trade relations and fully ensure a balance of trade.
He said South Asia was the fastest growing region in the world but also one of the least integrated. Malik noted that the region’s trade with the rest of the world was growing rapidly but intra-regional trade barely made up 5 percent of the total trade generating from the region.
He said despite being natural trade and investment partners, the volume of trade between Pakistan and India, the two largest economies of the region, has been extremely low.
“For instance, total trade between Brazil and Argentina amounted to $33 billion in 2010, almost 15 times more than the current Pak-Indo trade of a little over $2 billion. He said that it is worth noting that Argentina and Brazil too have had strained relation with a past including war and fierce rivalry.
He said bilateral trade between Pakistan and India a couple of years ago stood at an estimated $1.83 billion. “India accounts for nearly 1.2 percent of Pakistan’s global exports while
Pakistan accounts for less than 0.9 percent of India’s global exports.
Malik went on to say that opening of proper trade within the ambit of law between the two neighbours will help check the billions of dollars worth irregular and illegal trade through land and sea routes.
He stressed on the urgent need for holding a series of dialogues between Pakistan’s and India’s private sector to thrash out modalities prior to finalising trade promotion agreements without affecting industry of either country.
