Traders call out India on Kashmir

KARACHI: Businessmen have called out India for attempting to isolate Pakistani traders by making SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) dysfunctional and said suspension of bilateral trade might, in medium-term, affect consumer welfare by increasing prices of a few agricultural and other products.

Businessmen Panel Secretary General (Federal) Ahmad Jawad said neither Pakistan nor India were critically dependent on each other’s market; however, in absolute terms, India would lose a market of $2 billion compared with Pakistan’s loss of $0.38 billion.

“Pakistan’s exports of $383 million to India in 2018 constituted 1.6 percent of Pakistan’s global exports,” he said.

Indian exports continued unabated at a monthly average of $150 million while Pakistan’s decreased from $30 million to $4 million. Since Pakistan’s value-added products were systematically excluded through NTBs, Pakistan’s exports to India were concentrated in a few primary and intermediate products — dried dates ($92 million), cement ($63 million), sugar ($23 million), gypsum ($19 million), sesame seed ($15 million), leather ($14 million), steel scrap ($13 million), disodium carbonate ($12 million) and surgical instruments ($11 million). Jawad said there was no use talking to India on the restoration of trade unless it restored the special status of Indian held Kashmir.