‘Pakistan, India must jointly market mangoes abroad’

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan and India could immensely benefit if both the countries work towards working out a joint marketing strategy aimed at exporting mangoes abroad. If both the countries’ mango seasons, which cover different months, are combined they could span 8-9 months for US market whose import share in mangoes is 42 percent in the world.

India is a good market for Pakistani Chaunsa and Anwar Ratol varieties; and Pakistan must focus starting shipments on immediate basis so that Indian people enjoy our summer gift, said CEO Harvest Tradings, Ahmad Jawad while talking to Business Recorder. In fact more should be done to boost trade of fruit between the two countries, he added.

He welcomed Pakistan and India’s principled agreement to expand trade volume between traders on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) to strengthen the already existing trade and social bonds between the two countries.

He expressed the hope that the both countries working groups would discuss an international banking system to improve bilateral trade, and put an end to the old system of barter trade.

Trade between Pakistan and India cannot be expanded until the list of tradable items is increased. These matters must be discussed in the working group’s meetings, and decisions should be taken in the interest of people on both sides of the border.

Currently the trading volume between the two countries is around $ 2.5 billion, by comparison, two-way trade between India and China is valued at more than $60 billion annually.

It “does not make any sense” that India’s trade with Pakistan is at such a low level whereas with its other neighbors, ie Bangladesh and Sri Lanka it is much more.

Under the World Trade Organization agreements, the MFN principle is supposed to ensure that WTO members don’t discriminate against one another, and allowing all countries in the organization to benefit equally from the lowest possible tariffs.

He was of the view that tremendous opportunities exist in Punjab-to-Punjab cooperation. “I see clear opportunity available as agriculture and food processing is one area in which both sides could benefit.”

Similarly, he said its time now that India and Pakistan should continue to work within the outline of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and recommended more meetings between the Indus Water Commissioners than the one obligatory meeting once in a year.