PESHAWAR: The trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan in locally-produced goods and services has reduced from 75,000 containers in 2010 to 49,000 containers in 2017 mainly due to slowdown in Afghanistan’s imports from Pakistan and higher flow of trade from Iran and Central Asia.
There are 11 notified trade routes between the two countries, but trade is allowed only through three routes so the community on both sides should be allowed to do business on as many routes as possible in order to give a push to the revenue generation.
This was stated by Collector Customs Gull Rahman while talking to Customs Today on Thursday at Peshawar.
The collector customs further said the cross-border traders are complaining about the security of merchandise and inadequate banking facilities on which the Federal Board of Revenue have been working hard.
For instance, both sides have promised to open more trade and transit routes, streamline visa-related facilities on the border along with the provision of multiple long-term visas for businessmen, although progress has been made in this regard from Pakistani side but no response received from the other side.
Apart from the need to have a more expanded network of Pakistani banks in Afghanistan, there are challenges in finance and insurance sectors that are preventing the growth of trade; collector customs remarked.
The collector customs added that businessmen resort to the Hawala system since there are no bank branches or formal money exchangers near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at certain locations which has also made the system weird and complicated.
Moreover, the collector suggested that Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and its counterparts in Kabul need to revisit the tariff and para-tariffs imposed on the incoming goods from both sides in order to get know about the problems being faced by importers of both sides.
Collector Customs Gull Rahman said both governments should sit together and amicably resolve their mutual issues because, due to such inflexible stances by both sides, ultimately it is the loss of the consumers on both sides who will end up paying for a breakdown of trade diplomacy.
