'Exports of poor quality goods cause reduced trade with Afghanistan'

Expressing deep concern over delays in clearance of Afghanistan-bound goods, members of the delegation of Pakistan-Afghan Joint Committee complained that many Pakistani suppliers were exporting substandard and poor-quality goods to Afghanistan, particularly pharma products, which was major reason behind descending trade between the two countries.
They expressed these concerns during a visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). They also underscored the need to effectively deal with numerous bottlenecks that were hindering trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan that declined to less than US $1.5 billion in 2015 and continued to go down in 2016. The delegation members said that trade must thrive and move on a fast-track which could be done when business communities work together and play a role of a strong bridge by bringing people of the two countries closer to each other.
They opined that the bottlenecks could be removed easily if the two sides act diligently and honestly. "Due to low quality of goods being supplied by Pakistani companies, the Afghan people prefer not to buy Pakistan goods which calls for serious attention," said advisor to Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense Wazhma Frogh.
She stressed that this issue had to be addressed in order to save the existing trade volume from further fall. Chairman Businessmen Group and former president of KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli said that the economic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were more important than political relations, hence, the business communities of both sides must look for opportunities to further strengthen the existing trade ties and this must be done on fast-track.
Extending full support and co-operation to members of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee, Teli said that the Karachi Chamber was already trying to improve the existing relations between the two countries and they would be more than happy to fully support and cooperate with the Joint Committee as well which was formed to improve trade ties and enhance people-to-people contact.
"In this regard, Karachi Chamber is ready to nominate a focal person from KCCI who could promptly assist and respond to any inquiries from the members of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee which will obviously improve linkages and prove favorable in dealing with numerous issues,, he said, adding: "Our doors remain open to help in creating strong linkage between KCCI and Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee for furthering trade ties."
He said that Pakistan-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry was also being run by some of our friends from KCCI successfully that had brought the business communities more close to each other. He said that Karachi, being the largest city and the financial and industrial hub of Pakistan, offered immense opportunities and added facilities for investment and joint ventures to Afghanistan's business community.
"In this regard, we, at Karachi Chamber, are always there to support and help as much as possible," he assured and expressed hope that the meeting between KCCI and the Joint Committee members would prove to be very fruitful in furthering relations between the two countries.
President KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo welcomed the delegates. He pointed out that during the fiscal year 2016, Pakistan's exports descended to $1,230 million while its imports stood at $41 million but these figures didn't depict the actual trade volume between the two countries. "The quantum of unofficial trade is said to be very significant at the border of Afghanistan due to which, according to estimates, every day goods worth millions of dollars are moved in and out of Afghanistan through trucks that go unrecorded," he noted.

Firpo said that Khyber Pass, a part of historical Silk Road between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was reported to have been widely used for parallel trade which had adversely affected the national exchequers on both sides of the border. He noted that although some measures were taken to deal with this issue but still the situation "calls for increasing scrutiny and the installation of modern scanning machines, biometrics and tracking system at Pak-Afghan border."
He stressed on collective efforts from both sides that need to be initiated to deal with numerous obstacles that had led to almost 50% reduction in the bilateral and transit trade between the two countries. KCCI president said that Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement was largely being misused as the Afghanistan-bound goods arriving at the ports were actually ending up in the Pakistani markets, causing severe losses and bringing numerous industries in Pakistan on the verge of total collapse.
"Though this is an agreement of vital importance, keeping in view the prevailing situation, it is high time to revisit and optimise the execution of APTTA", he exhorted.
Senior vice president KCCI Asif Nisar, vice president KCCI Muhammad Younus Soomro, MNA Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, former deputy minister for Trade and Commerce Afghanistan Mozammil Shinwari, former Pakistan's ambassador Mian Sanaullah, senior journalist Muhammad Tahir and others also attended the meeting.