ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China border is likely to be opened from July 15, after appropriate arrangements in the wake of Covid-19.
Informed sources in Ministry of Commerce told that Pakistan Customs, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Logistic Cell (NLC) have suggested allowing 10 containers per day to avoid crowding.
Chinese side has intimated to Islamabad that border can be opened on temporary basis and China wants release of 186 containers as a special arrangement.
With the closure of Pak-China border after spread of Covid-19 across the country, bilateral and transit trade activity was almost nil. The traders of both countries were approaching different Ministries to open borders on a limited basis to facilitate trade.
Under China Pakistan FTA phase-II Pakistani meat has been zero rated from 9-10 per cent. Commerce Ministry is of the view that a public-private sector joint push can be very helpful in tapping $ 19-20 million Chinese meat import market.
Meanwhile, Commerce Advisor, Abdul Razak Dawood has congratulated DG Khan Cement for making a breakthrough in winning orders for export of cement to Philippines. This follows on their success in China. He said, exporters should follow this example of extending their market reach across the globe.
"Once market reach extends, then market share will increase. Increasing geographical diversification is an important part of our strategic trade policy," he added.
He further stated that export remittances from IT and ITES sector have also picked up, showing a growth of 21 per cent and fetching over a billion dollars in foreign exchange, in just 11 months of FY 2019-20.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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