KARACHI, March 6: Pakistan more than quadrupled its exports to Afghanistan at $192 million in first seven months of this fiscal year from $43 million a year-ago period. This four time rise in exports to the neighbouring country seems impressive. But the trend indicates that during the current fiscal year exports to Afghanistan should reach $350 million-slightly higher than last year exports of $315 million.

The Export Promotion Bureau was initially expecting exports to Kabul to reach $500 million during this fiscal year but they now admit that it is too difficult. "But I hope exports to Kabul may reach $400-$450 million at the end of this fiscal year," said a senior EPB official. (The total export target set for this fiscal year is $12.1 billion up from $11.2 billion in the last fiscal year).

He said Afghanistan was one of the new-found export markets for Pakistan adding that Pakistani exporters would take time in renewing their old business links with Kabul and establishing new ones. Branches of Pakistani banks established recently in Kabul would also facilitate exports.

EPB officials point to broadening the product-base for exports to Afghanistan calling it an indication that Pakistani exporters are doing well.

Long is the list of the items exported to Kabul in the first seven months of this fiscal year and export categories are not confined to materials used in infrastructure building. Nor they are limited to the items of daily use meant for consumption of foreign forces based there or for taking care of the locals in need of medical and health care.

Another important thing is that the list of the items exported to Afghanistan in the first seven months of this fiscal year include many things that it had not exported to that country in a year-ago period.

Following are some of the items whose exports to Kabul during July/January 2003/04 fetched more than a million dollars: milk and cream ($5.5m); wheat flour ($2.7m); soyabean oil and its fractions ($9m); animal or vegetable fats and oils ($25m); animal or vegetable fats and oils chemically modified ($5.9m); cane or beet sugar and sucrose in solid form ($6.8m); sugar confectionery ($1.5m); water sweetened and other non-alcoholic beverages, etc. ($2.6m); Portland cement and other types of cement ($14.8m); pharmaceutical goods ($1m); mineral or chemical fertilizer ($3.5m); other fertilizers ($2m); soap and detergents ($7.6m); tableware and other household articles of plastic ($2.2m); tableware or household articles of iron and steel ($2.5m); blank audio and video cassettes ($1.6m).

In fiscal year 2002/03 Afghanistan ranked eighth among major buyers of Pakistani products with total exports to it valuing at $316 million. The first seven countries were: (i) USA ($2.6bn) (ii) Dubai ($1bn) (iii) UK ($788m) (iv) China/Hong Kong ($761m (v) Germany ($580m) (vi) Saudi Arabia (477m) and Italy ($341m).

EPB officials say that exports to Afghanistan may rise faster if smuggling to that country is checked effectively and business associations in Pakistan join hands with EPB in promoting Pakistani goods there. Since the war-torn country is in the process of reconstruction Pakistan can also take this opportunity in making Kabul a destination for its exportable engineering goods and machinery.

That will also fuel growth of engineering industry in Pakistan so badly needed for diversification of exportable product base. In the last fiscal year the share of engineering goods was only one percent in total exports of $11.2 billion.