KARACHI, April 17: Pakistan's exports to Bangladesh has risen 34 per cent to $96.22 million in eight months to February 2004 from $71.86 million in a year-ago period. This export earning is much higher than from many other countries making BD the 16th top destination of Pakistani exports.
This rate of increase in exports to BD in July/February 2003/04 is more than double the 14 per cent increase in Pakistan's total exports during this period. Officials at Export Promotion Bureau say that exports to Bangladesh would easily touch $150 million at the end of this fiscal year in June 2004. "If the current pace continues fetching $150 million is no big deal," said a senior EPB official.
At $96.22 million exports to BD was 1.2 per cent of Pakistan's total exports of $7.877 billion in eight months to February 2004.
This leaves Islamabad far behind India whose exports to BD is roughly 2.3 per cent of its total exports. Indian export earning from Bangladesh was $1.176 billion in fiscal year April/March 2002/03 out of its total exports of $51.7 billion.
Senior EPB officials recognize the need to boost exports to BD but they say it is difficult for Pakistani exporters to compete with India. "They have the advantage of geographical proximity," said an official pointing to the fact that Indian exporters who warehouse their goods in Kolkata export the same into Bangladesh literally overnight.
Against this Pakistan's sea-bound exports take at least two weeks to reach Dhaka. Local exporters send some export items to BD by air also but that is an expensive business.
Export of fruits can be cited as an example. "We cannot export apples to Bangladesh at competitive rates even though we enjoy a 25 per cent freight subsidy," says Mr Mateen Siddiqui of Fruits & Vegetables Processors & Exporters Association. "As a result we are losing apples export market there to Chinese."
He said there is a big potential for export of kinnos to Dhaka but unlike on other fruits air freight subsidy is not available on export of kinnos. And there is no point in exporting kinnos by sea "because that will take at least two weeks." Bangladesh buyers easily get kinno supplies from Bhotan in less than a week.
But the situation is not so bad with grapes exporters. "Grape exports to Bangladesh has hit a record during this fiscal year," says Mateen Siddiqui adding that he alone exported 250 tons.
Data complied by EPB confirms this. Export of grapes to BD in eight months to February 2004 skyrocketed to $454,000 from only $6000 a year earlier.
Pakistan not only exports fruits and vegetables to Bangladesh. It does export many more items. In eight months to February 2004, the largest chunk of $96.22 million export earning from BD came through exports of cotton yarn, woven cotton fabrics, woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn and other knitted or crouched fabrics.
Pakistan also earned handsome amounts of money through exports of leather and leather products; sugar; confectionery; bed and table lenin; motorcycles and their parts and accessories; medical and surgical instruments; marbles; tractors and air/vacuum pumps or compressors and fans.
