New Delhi: In a press conference addressing the floods in Pakistan, the country’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the government “could consider importing vegetables and edible items from India”.
Talking to the media during an informal meeting in Islamabad Monday, he said this in response to a question, The Dawn reported. Ismail said he would keep a watch on the situation of the farmers and that the “trade with India would be opened if need be.”
Pakistan has been witnessing one of the worst floods in recent history.
According to National Disaster Management Authority reports, the death toll has reached 1,033 with around 119 killed in the past 24 hours.
Speaking about the loss of crops and the relief packages subsequently released by the government, the Federal Finance Minister said that the floods are likely to affect the supply of fruits and vegetables, following which the import of vegetables will have to be opened. To this, he added that, if they have to import vegetables from India, they will.
In March 2021, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in Pakistan made an announcement allowing the private sector to import white sugar from India via the Wagah Border. However, this was reversed following criticism from the opposition.
Amid the shift in government, Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce had ruled out any possibility of resuming bilateral trade with India in May.
Trade between the two countries was stopped in 2019, following the Pulwama attack and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan has in the past exported items such as dates, leather, and woven fabrics to India while the latter has exported food and vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, cane sugar, fresh vegetables, coarse cereals, etc. With the prices of onions and tomatoes skyrocketing due to the floods, Pakistan may look to import these from India.
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