Withdrawal of MFN status may hit agri trade with Pakistan

New Delhi: The Indian government’s decision to hike duty to 200 per cent on all imports from Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack is set to affect the already dwindling agri trade between the countries further. India’s export to Pakistan has declined by more than half in the past four years due to various issues that include restrictions on exports via road, administrative blockades by Pakistani authorities. And the latest casualty of the decision is likely to be onions, which the Indian authorities were planning to sell overseas in the wake of bumper domestic production this year.

Now, the plan has been shelved following the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, according to the sources in the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). India exported 6.43 lakh tonnes of agriculture commodities worth Rs 1,880 crore to Pakistan in 2014-15 while it came down to 1.16 lakh tonnes worth Rs 784 crore in 2017-18. “There will be a reaction from Pakistan over the decision of hiking import duty. We do not expect that onion would be permitted to be sold across the border now.” (IANS)

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