Pakistan hopes to resume cement and other trade with India

Two federal ministers of Pakistan, Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, and Minister for Maritime Affairs, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, have shown intention to resume trade with India, which has been halted since August 2019 following India’s revocation of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir. Both ministers viewed that business people wanted the resumption of trade, but this required further talks and approval by the country's government and parliament.

In addition, exporting cement from Pakistan via the land border had also been stopped due to political tension and New Delhi’s imposition of harsh duties. The local cement industry is watching this development and has yet to comment.

The Foreign Minister stated, “Pakistani businessmen want trade with India to resume,” during his remarks at the Pakistan High Commission in London following his attendance at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels. Mr Dar expressed a readiness to consider the resumption of trade, reflecting a possible shift in diplomatic approach. This comes in the context of persistent tensions since India's 2019 decision, which Pakistan asserts disrupted the environment for dialogue.

Pakistan has tied the normalisation of relations with India to the reinstatement of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. However, signs of easing tensions appeared with the renewal of the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control in February 2021. Additionally, recent exchanges between Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, have sparked optimism for improved diplomatic relations.

Total exports from Pakistan stood at 6.53Mt in 2019, representing a YoY growth of 37.7 per cent. Dispatches to Afghanistan fell by 5.5 per cent to 1.72Mt and India by 41 per cent to 715,835t during this reporting period.