Farmers are up in arms again; this time against increasing duty-free imports of agricultural commodities from India. Pakistan had opened the Wagha border for the import of 137 items way back in March 2012. This has now become a problem for domestic farmers.

Last year, vegetables and other small items worth Rs26bn were imported. This year, the first six months’ bill is Rs16bn. Pakistani farmers think, with a measure of justification, that Indian farmers are being facilitated at their cost, and have got together to resist the process.

Last week, almost every notable farmer’s body — Kissan Board Pakistan, Farmers Associates Pakistan, Kissan Ittehad, Awane Zaraat, Sindh Tas Water Council, Punjab Water Council — was part of a meeting that was called to discuss the issue. All these independent bodies with diverse views came together because the ‘issue on hand was common — concerning every farmer.’ In a subsequent press conference, these bodies demanded the withdrawal of the statutory notification, which allowed duty-free import of 137 items through Wagha border.

The main concerns of farmers are: firstly, they demand a level playing field for Pakistani and Indian farmers. Secondly, they think that SRO on duty-free imports was tantamount to informally granting India the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) which implictly grants India transit trade facility, which Pakistan has been vowing to resist.

Farmers say with 137 items allowed duty-free through Wagha border — the closest possible point to India’s agriculture production base and Pakistan’s most populated areas — what else is left to grant to India?

Local farmers claim that Indian agricultural subsidy is well over $100bn, while all farm inputs in Pakistan are taxed heavily. This creates uneven playing field. Successive governments in Pakistan have also resisted pressure from diplomatic and international financial institutions (IFI) to completely open the borders.

The farmers say that with 137 items allowed duty-free through Wagha border — the closest possible point to the India agriculture production base and Pakistan’s most populated areas — what else is left to grant to India?

The government opened borders in particular circumstances to facilitate a few items, which were in short supply in those days and were seeing local prices skyrocketing. Since crop harvesting is almost a quarterly phenomenon, sticking to one policy through statutory orders hardly makes sense. The farmers need to be heard on this point.

The farmers maintain that India had long been asking for transit trade facility, which Pakistan has been denying. Now Pakistan needs to look into the matter if this Wagha border facility, which was meant to keep prices of perishable items down in Pakistan, is being used to trade beyond Pakistan market. It may not be Indian traders but Pakistanis might be acting as the transit facilitator or Afghans might be purchasing from Pakistani market and taking the vegetables home and beyond. Otherwise, how could Pakistanis consumes Rs15bn worth tomatoes in a short season or Rs14bn beans in first six months of the current fiscal?

If farmers are collectively raising voice on this point, it merits investigation — how much is coming in, how much is consumed here and how much is going out, if any.

Such investigations are also necessary because pest would also be traded along with these perishables. The quarantine facilities on Pakistani side are almost non-existent at Wagha border. All these commodities are moving through the borders almost unchecked. Farmers from the border areas of Shakarghar, have been complaining pest attack on wheat crop for the last few years.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, January 12th, 2015

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