LAHORE, Jan 30: With huge hidden and budgeted subsidies to the tune of $99 billion to the agriculture sector, it is next to impossible to expect Pakistan to fully open its doors to Indian agriculture products, the Basmati Growers Association (BGA) said on Wednesday.

“India is bound to drastically reduce agriculture subsidies before expecting the most favoured nation (MFN) status from Pakistan,” said BGA President Hamid Malhi.

“It would be a preferential treatment to subsidised agriculture products of India. No other country in the world has a 20km access to the city of Lahore with consumer base of 12.50 million people. Another 50 million market exists within a radius of 200km in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi. It is not a level playing field for the farmers of Pakistan who are subjected to GST of 16 per cent on all inputs plus agriculture tax to the tune of Rs2 billion annually,” he said.

While inputs are taxed the output is historically kept low priced and even banned export in the case of pulses & livestock, he went on to explain.

There is a Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for 25 crops in India while only wheat is procured by Pakistan along with an indicative price of sugarcane, which is rigged by the millers through unjustified weight and variety deductions.

“Why have Pakistan’s agriculture exports to India not been able to grow when India had already granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996?” Malhi questioned.

He went to add that trade has remained lopsided with ‘80 per cent of $2 billion trade it going in India’s favour and a meager 20 per cent for Pakistan’.

“Reciprocal gains to Pakistan are not visible. India currently has a 30 per cent duty on imports of onions, tomato, potato, etc. while Pakistan allowed imports of agriculture items at zero tariff for the last so many years. India has gained over the years even without MFN status and would gain further and rapidly, if the so called hotch potch trade liberalisation policy is implemented by Pakistan,” he said.

He went on to add that the Federal Cabinet was taken for a ride and was provided with wrong information about consultations with all stakeholders in March, 2012.

“If MFN under WTO can wait for 17 years what is the hurry now? It must be remembered that the Doha Round failed because of the immense agriculture subsidies of exporting countries, why are we showing extra wisdom in the same area,” he questioned.

Without proper homework and consultation with farmers, MFN to India should always remain an illusion, he said.

The BGA maintained that in light of these conditions, granting MFN to India would be extremely disastrous for Pakistan’s 20 million farming households and future agriculture production. The association requested President Asif Ali Zardari to uphold national interest and resist all external pressures in this regard.