Trade with India: Reap enumerates benefits

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) appreciating government’s decision to allow trade with India has said that India, being a market of around 1.3 billion people offers bright prospects for food and agricultural products.

Though REAP Vice Chairman, Ch. Samee Ullah, criticized bureaucracy for not involving stakeholders in to the negotiation process as they are well aware of the mutual trade posses.

“There are odds and evens in trade, we need to gather the best potential possible for our country” he mentioned.

Pakistan rice export volume can be escalated to $3 billion from existing worth of about $2 billion after opening of trade through Wagha. He requested the authorities to take representatives of export-oriented industries on board for evolving an effective and result-oriented trade liberalization policy with India that could help achieve desired goal of increasing exports.

The REAP VC, in a letter to Secretary Ministry of Commerce, stated that Indian agriculture sector is highly subsidized where farmers are provided with free electricity for tube wells, fertilizers and pesticides are provided at very nominal rates resulting in reduced costs of productions. The bilateral trade with India in rice would knock farmers out of the competition. For that, we recommend that import of rice from India for local consumption with in Pakistan is countervailed by imposing countervailing duty in proportionate to the difference of subsidized inputs available by Indian farmer.

As India has discriminately imposed 70 percent duty on import of Pakistani rice so we need to cater that segment out. REAP warned that in case farmers’ interest is not safeguarded, the association will file application with National Tariff Commission as farmers’ benefit is the first priority. For any imports of Indian rice for re-export purposes, a Duty and Tax Remission for Exports (DTRE) scheme should be allowed which would help our exporters avoid countervailing and other duties, keeping us price competitive in international markets.

The DTRE Scheme would ensure increased export volumes and capacity, helping gain higher foreign exchange of up to $3 billion, he added. The DTRE scheme should only be allowed on imports of Indian rice for re-exports purposes only with value addition, Samee Ullah further suggested.  Reap also demanded that the trade of rice should be allowed through Wagha border on immediate basis. It is highly opportunistic to import Indian high quality basmati rice from Wagha to Lahore under DTRE and re-export it with value addition through Karachi.