ISLAMABAD, April 14: Fruit and vegetable exporters have voiced concern over non-tariff measures which were restricting entry of their products into Chinese and Malaysian markets under the free trade agreements (FTAs).

Speaking at a seminar on “Pakistan’s export potential in China and Malaysia in the context of FTAs,” here on Monday, Anjuman Wholesale Fruit Commission Agents General Secretary Tahir Ayub said that Chinese importers were reluctant to import fruits, like citrus or mangoes, from Pakistan on the plea that it was not meeting their stringent phyto-sanitary measures.

However, Chinese exporters, he said, were dumping their substandard fruit in Pakistan.

He suggested that Pakistani vegetables and fruits should get an equal status under the agreement.

The seminar was organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, in collaboration with the Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Elaborating the potential of Pakistani products under FTA with China, TDAP WTO Cell head Mujeeb Ahmed Khan said that 20 items constitute 85 per cent of total exports to China. Of these, 47 per cent share is of cotton yarn, which is the single largest export item to China.

However, cotton yarn (not carded or combed) has been placed in the no-concessions list of the FTA despite the fact that China was the biggest importer of this particular item from the world and its import stands at $3 billion, he added.

Mr Khan said that most noticeable finding of the analysis of top Pakistani products reveals that Pakistan’s exports to China are very limited in number, which underscores the need for diversification of exportable commodities in the Chinese market.He said that export volume of these products was estimated at $85.204 million, which is 24 per cent of the total exports from Pakistan to China. This category comprises some of the items which also fall in top 20 exports products of Pakistan to China. The total size of these products imported by China has been estimated at $21.49 billion. However, the share of Pakistan in these items imported by China is negligibly 0.4 per cent.

Statistics showed that Pakistan’s trade deficit with China swelled to $3.232 billion in 2006 from $1.280 billion in 2003, mainly due to preferential market access, followed by an early harvest programme.

TDAP Advisory Unit’s in-charge Tipu Sultan elaborated the perceived gains from the FTA with Malaysia.

He said out of 97 items under core category, only seven have been placed in category of normal track, which means that most of the items would get zero-rated tariff by 2012.

Although the present value of core products has been estimated at $19.87 million, the untapped potential of such products has been estimated at 275 million.

He said that the same potential exists for other core and development category.

Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan’s Director-General Dr. Safdar Sohail said that the purpose of the seminar was to educate exporters about the potential for increasing exports in these two countries.

He said that relevant issues would be raised at appropriate levels for its possible solution.

He also highlighted various areas under which cooperation between Pakistan and Malaysia could be enhanced to tap the potential in a true perspective.

Islamabad Chamber President Mohammad Ijaz Abbasi said though Pakistan was signing FTAs with various countries around the world to boost its exports, but unfortunately it has failed to achieve the desired results.

He said that it is observed that after signing FTAs, Pakistan’s imports have increased manifolds.

Mr Abbasi said the current total volume of trade between China and Pakistan has crossed $6 billion, but balance of trade is heavily tilted towards China.

He further said that Pakistan’s trade deficit is increasing gradually, which is a matter of great concern. He stressed that Pakistan should device a comprehensive strategy to bridge the gap between imports and exports to reduce the trade deficit.He emphasised that before signing FTAs, stakeholders should be consulted for productive results of the agreements. He said that business community is not consulted well before time of signing agreements; as a result, desired results are not achieved.