Pak to Import Vegetables From India Duty-Free.

CHANDIGARH: The Pakistan government has allowed duty-free import of 15 varieties of fresh vegetables from India through the Attari check post at Amritsar . The move comes after Pakistani importers and trade associations pushed their government to take steps to reduce inflation in the country following the floods that devastated crops in Pakistan.

Currently, five items including garlic, tomato, potato and onions are exported to Pakistan through land route. Following the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) issued by Pakistan’s commerce ministry on November 2, import of green chillies, fresh ginger and capsicum was allowed. The other 12 items in the list include Indian cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, green pepper, lady’s finger/okra, gourd/marrow, bitter gourd, radish, arum/arvi, green coriander and tinda.

Importers who have been sending perishable items through the bi-weekly Samjhauta Express have largely welcomed the development. With just one or two bogeys being allotted (each bogey carries 50 tonne) for the perishable items, the long journey was a dampener as some of the produce got wasted and did not fetch good price.

Humayun Sawhney, the owner of Lahore-based Sawhney Impact, said, “With this new amendment, we expect an increase in the trade of perishable fruits and vegetables from India. Even though the import of vegetables was allowed through train, it was not successful as the vegetables used to get wasted due to the three-to-four day journey, which includes loading, unloading and journey period.”

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com