Sri Lankan Goods: Pakistan to grant concessionary access

Sri Lanka to import basmati rice based on the Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement of 2005.

COLOMBO:

Sri Lanka will allocate import of the entire basmati rice quota of 6,000 tons agreed under the Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSFTA) in 2005 to the private sector from 2012. Pakistan will restore the same level of competitiveness as agreed before for Sri Lankan betel leaves by adjusting the current margin of preference.

These important decisions were taken during secretarial level meeting and talks between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement in Colombo that concluded on August 18.

Pakistan will consider granting concessionary market access for electrical items while Sri Lanka will consider categorising onyx products imported from Pakistan as handicrafts.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2011.