Coimbatore: Opening of Wagah-Attari border would be ideal route for tea export to Pakistan, which would save considerable time, United Planters Association of South India has said.
Shipments could easily take more than two weeks while land route could transport teas in a week and a decision on opening the Wagha-Attari border could be taken up at policy level, UPASI said in its status note of South India Tea sector.
South India tea exports to Pakistan touched a record high of 23 million kg during 2011 and the recent visit of a Pakistani delegation to South India further reinforced this trade potential, and it was anticipated that in a few years, export from South India could touch 50 million kg, the note said.
Another policy decision that could be a game changer in India-Pakistan trade was to have functional SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA), as MFN Status as such would not significantly alter the tea trade, since tea was already in the positive list of Indo-Pak trade, it claimed.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 16:47