Flow of goods from India continues

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

By Jawwad Rizvi

LAHORE: The flow of goods from India to Pakistan has continued uninterrupted through different routes despite the war hysteria created by New Delhi after the Mumbai attacks last month.No slowdown has been noticed in imports of different products from India, however exports of Pakistani goods to India have plunged due to non-serious behaviour of traders and government of the neighbouring country.A study conducted by The News has found no major impact on imports from India by the Mumbai incident. But on the export side, downtrend has begun. Pakistan mainly exports cement to India through rail and sea routes and its exports has sharply declined due to non-tariff barriers.Annual trade between India and Pakistan currently stands at $2.3 billion with balance heavily tilted in favour of Delhi. Pakistan imports some $1.95 billion worth of products from India including fruits, vegetables, seeds, spices, maize, soybean, mushroom, medicines, chemicals, cotton and others. On the other hand, its exports are worth only $400 million.The high trade surplus for India means if it stops trade with Pakistan, it would lose a good market of its products. Sea trade has a huge share in total trade between the two neighbours.In 2004-05, trade between the two sides totalled $835 million only, which has now increased two times. These days, Indian vegetables are coming from Wagah border regularly and the Mumbai attacks have not hampered the flow of commodities. Around 70 to 80 trucks loaded with Indian tomato, potato, cotton and other items are arriving daily.India has suspended land trade through Muzaffarabad-Srinagar route after the Mumbai incident and has also threatened to stop trade from other routes. However, facts indicate it will not take an extreme step of stopping trade with Pakistan when it is massively in favour of it.The business community of both sides is against war and says the two governments should resort to dialogue instead of indulging in war talk.Talking to The News, Vishal Malhotra, a Mumbai businessman doing business with Pakistan, slammed the Indian government for giving ‘sweeping’ statements and said “war has never been a solution to any problem.”He said business with Pakistanis was good, but “now the Indian government is taking cosmetic measures to hinder trade. It will spoil the whole trade between the two countries and a third country will benefit.”HK Bhatia, an exporter based in New Delhi, said his sales had sharply increased since bilateral trade between the two countries through land route started. He was of the view that politicians should not destroy trade for their politics.“We want other land routes opened,” he said, adding the Indian government should not initiate war.Mehfooz Ahmed, a Karachi-based exporter, said his Indian counterpart had cancelled orders for lead and cement owing to difficulties created by Delhi government. He pointed out that Indian traders were ready to do business but their government was not giving them any room and not showing flexibility, ignoring the fact the balance of trade was in its favour.Jamil Magoon, a veteran leader of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), said the leadership of both countries should boost confidence of the business community in order to stabilise the region. “War will take both the nations 100 years back,” he remarked.