“Pakistan’s cement is preferred by the Indians because of high quality and the cement industry was expecting a quantum jump in exports on easing of non-tariff barriers, but it did not happen,” said Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh, Chairman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.
He stressed that exports to India had in fact been on a constant decline ever since the two countries opened their borders for liberal bilateral trade. The decline was not because of slack demand, but he blamed the “very stringent non-tariff barriers erected by the neighbour”.
Besides the non-tariff barriers, the exporters have to go through a complex process for six to seven months for getting a quality certificate from the Indian authorities.
This “should be resolved on priority because it was committed by the Indian government for getting the most-favoured nation (MFN) status from Pakistan,” he said.
The quality certificate remains valid for one year only, despite six to seven months of processing time. After expiry, the exporters are not allowed to continue shipments and need to renew the certificates in a short time.
“The complicated process of getting quality certificate impedes cement exports from many companies, leading to a decline in exports,” Sheikh said.
In addition to the complex procedures, the certificate costs dearly as the exporters bear heavy expenses of the trip and stay in India.
Sheikh pointed out that Pakistani and Indian railways could exchange the same number of wagons for transportation of goods, but Pakistani wagons could not carry big cement quantities due to India’s “reciprocal rule”.
The railway wagons allotted by India for cement imports were limited and that increased the cost of cement transportation, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2012.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
I do Pakistan always want special treatment........Rules are not Pakistan specific........
India added 28 MT capacity last fiscal and 60 MT the year before. There is a glut in the market right now and will remain so in the future. Pakistan is not in a position to export a lot due to the excess capacity in India. All this talk by APCMA guys is hogwash! They can only hop to sell to local markets across the border.