Sust border reopening for Pakistan-China trade

LAHORE: Sust border, in Gilgit-Baltistan, locked down following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, will soon be unlocked for a limited time for the resumption of stuck Pakistan-China bilateral trade, a statement quoted country’s top commerce official as saying on Friday.

“The government is in coordination with the Chinese embassy for the reopening of Sust border for trade… and business community will soon get good news regarding temporary resumption of the trade from the Sust Borders,” Razak Dawood, adviser to prime minister on industry, commerce and trade said in a meeting with business leaders.

A delegation of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), led by its president, Anjum Nisar, met with the adviser at his office and discussed issues facing the trading community, a statement issued by the apex trading bod said.

Responding to the business community’s concerns, the adviser assured them their issues and reservations on Pakistan-Afghanistan transit and bilateral trade would also be resolved amicably on priority basis.

The advisor also assured the FPCCI president about the issues regarding the industrial chemical imports after the budget as the duty structure was increased which resulted in increase in cost of raw materials.

Earlier, Nisar briefed the adviser that Pakistan’s export to Afghanistan was $2.7 billion in 2011 which had plunged to $1.1 billion by 2019, adding he said around 1500 containers were cleared under bilateral trade before COVID-19, but this number had now reduced to 250 containers only. The FPCCI president said in the past shipments were cleared within two days and freight on a truck was Rs100,000; however, now the trucks were stuck for 20 to 25 days and freight had jumped to Rs400,000 per truck.