KARACHI, April 5: China is considering allowing duty free import of Pakistani marble. At the same time it wants Pakistan to bring the import duty on Chinese granite to zero. Some commerce ministry officials are reported to have informed the marble industry a few days back about the proposed move by both China and Pakistan at a time when many free trade agreements are expected to be inked during the ongoing visit of the Chinese prime minister to Pakistan.
The commerce ministry has sought suggestions from the marble industry so that the stakeholders should be taken into confidence before entering into any understanding with China.
All Pakistan Marble Industries Association (APMIA) Chairman Sanaullah Khan said that his association had asked the ministry not to bring the import duty on Chinese granite to zero. “Instead, the government should think of allowing duty free import of machinery from China.”
The government, he said, should be very careful before entering into any kind of free trade agreement with China, especially in the marble granite sector. “If the list of free trade items is selected carefully, it can increase the competitiveness of the marble industry meaningfully, besides boosting country’s export,” Mr Khan observed.
In a letter to the commerce ministry, he pointed out that the free trade with China could also lead to a total destruction of the local industry if the list of items included finished or semi-finished marble products at a very cheap price.
The association suggested the commerce ministry to include diamond segments for circular blades, diamond segment for gang saw, diamond segment for calibration, abrasive for grinding polishing marble and granite, fibre glass meshes for backing marble and granite, glues mastics and epoxy, machinery for quarry industry (marble
and granite), raw rough cut block of marble and granite, router and profile wheel for working on marble and granite, profiling and polishing machine and special conveyors and slings for use of lifting marble and granite, etc., in the list free trade items, as these products were main input of the local industry and not produced in Pakistan. These products are mostly imported from China and Europe.
Mr Khan said Pakistan and China could enter into joint ventures in the marble and granite mining, as marble and granite produced in Pakistan were not up to the standard that could be value added for exports.
