ISLAMABAD: Under a preferential trade agreement (PTA), Indonesia has consented to providing Pakistani products with deeper access to their market.
By providing deeper market access to Pakistani products in the Indonesian market, the negative trade balance between the two countries will be decreased, reported a local newspaper.
A senior official of Ministry of Commerce stated that renegotiation regarding reduction of duties on twenty items to zero percent has been undertaken with Indonesia.
Indonesian President, Joko Widodo is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on a state visit and will sign the revisions in PTA, according to a source in the foreign office.
The name of the products to be granted deeper penetration in the Indonesian market were not revealed by the official.
Duties according to the source are expected to be decreased on manufacturing products, fruits and agricultural produce.
In August, Pakistan and Indonesia agreed on concession for 20 different items during bilateral negotiation under Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
Both sides had discussed 20 tariff lines and Indonesia agreed to give concession on major exports from Pakistan including rice, textile, ethanol, kinnow and mangoes during renegotiation on PTA.
PTA between the two countries was signed in 2012 and became operational in 2013. In the last three years, Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia hit the red as imports grew by around $1 billion in the corresponding period.
Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia during 2015-16 stood at $130 million and $138 million during 2016-17 compared to $196 million in 2012-13.
According to the official, imports of Indonesia grew but not in real terms, but bilateral trade saw a rise. Imports from Indonesia during 2013-14 were recorded at $1.7 billion and $2.3 billion in 2016-17, registering a 26 percent rise during the corresponding period.
In August, concession on 20 tariff lines was agreed upon, which would help Pakistani kinnow export to Indonesia to increase from 18 to 35 million tons and mangoes exports will increase to 10 million tons in a year.
