India-Pakistan Trade News: Pakistan has suffered huge economic losses due to closure of trade with India. Pakistan-India Business Council (PIBC) Chairman Noor Mohammad Kasuri has claimed that Pakistan has so far suffered a loss of about $ 4,000 crore i.e. $ 40 billion due to the closure of trade between the two countries after the Pulwama terrorist attack in 2019. He has once again appealed to India and Pakistan to start trade relations. He says that if trade starts again between the two countries, it can benefit the businessmen as well as the common people.
How is Pakistan suffering losses?
According to Noor Mohammad Kasuri, after the closure of trade with India, Pakistani companies have to buy essential goods and raw materials from other countries. Due to this, the cost of bringing goods has increased and delivery is also taking more time. He told that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry earlier used to buy many essential raw materials from India. Now the expenditure has increased due to importing from other countries. Kasuri claims that if imports from India start again, Pakistan can save 200 to 300 crore dollars every year.
Textile industry also affected
The closure of trade with India has also affected Pakistan’s textile industry. Kasuri said that due to low production of cotton in Pakistan, textile companies have to buy cotton from countries like Brazil, Egypt, China and America. This has resulted in additional expenditure of about 500 crore dollars. He also expressed concern that many farmers of Pakistan have left cotton cultivation and started cultivating sugarcane. Due to this, the textile industry is facing difficulty in getting the necessary raw materials. He expressed the need to make better agricultural policies to increase cotton production.
Pakistan can import these things from India
According to Kasuri, Pakistan can buy many essential goods from India. These include sugar, fertilizer, cement, petroleum products, iron-steel, vegetables and heavy machinery. He said that India’s oil refineries are very close to Pakistan. In such a situation, Pakistan may have to spend less on purchasing petroleum products from India and the goods may also arrive sooner.
Both countries will benefit from the start of trade
PIBC Chairman said that with the resumption of trade between India and Pakistan, businessmen of both the countries can get new opportunities. This can also increase cooperation in investment, tourism and other sectors. He also mentioned tourism of religious and historical places. According to him, there are many places in both the countries where people want to visit their ancestral villages and old religious places. Kasuri said that political differences should not become an obstacle in the way of economic cooperation. Efforts should be made to resolve old disputes between the two countries through dialogue. He expressed hope that the resumption of trade relations could benefit the economies of both the countries.
Source: www.livehindustan.com
