The Centre should urgently review the list of items to be exported by the Indian traders through Renqinggang mart in the Tibetan Autonomo that our traders could reap benefit from the opening of the annual trade on the Sino-Indian frontier at Nathu la, the ICTAS vice president D D Mundhra told PTI here.
Till the list of items are not revised, the Indian traders would be doing business with 'zero profit' and for some traders, the ongoing border trade could turn out to be a loss making venture due to high transportation costs and other expenses, he said.
Besides seeking revision in the items on the export list, Mundhra further demanded that the government's ban on the export of non-basmati rice should be waived in the case of the Sino-India border trade as the cereal was high on the demand list of the traders from TAR in China.
The ICTAS vice president further sought the permission to sale those goods imported from China at the border trade throughout our country so that the traders could make reasonable profit as the existing norm for consumption of such goods in Sikkim was impacting on the volume of the imported goods and the margin of our traders.
The need to improve road infrastructure upto Nathu la frontier also figured in the wish list of the Indian traders participating in the annual border trade.
The centre should urgently take up the repair and widening of the road from Gangtok to Nathu la in view of increase in the movement of vehicles on account of growing number of tourists as well as for the purpose of transporting the consignment of the traders, Mundhra said.
The Sikkim Commerce and Industries department director Ujjawal Gurung also concurred with the demands of the Indian traders for revision of the list of existing 29 items for export to TAR at the annu, jems and jewelleries, orchid and other flowers, processed food items, should be considered for addition in the expanded list for export by our traders, he said.
Meanwhile, a five-member parliamentary standing committee of Commerce headed by E Ponnuswami, which paid a two-day visit to the Himalayan state last week, was also apprised about the demand for increase in the list of items as well as the infrastructural needs by the state Commerce and Industries Department officials.
A ICTAS delegation comprising the traders also submitted a memorandum to the parliamentary committee seeking their intervention for upgradation of list of items to make the annual border trade viable for traders, Mundhra said.
The members of parliamentary standing committee, who also visited Nathu la frontier to take stock of the infrastructure, assured the traders and the state government officials that they would take up the issue with the Centre for positive redressal of their demands. Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling had also taken up with the Centre for expanding the items on the trade list for border trade and also the need for improving the road infrastructure from Gangtok to Nathu la.
It may be mentioned that as per the bilateral agreement, 29 items are exported from India, while the corresponding number of items being imported from TAR are 15.
The annual border trade at Nathu la this year was formally opened on May 19 last with one Indian trader visiting Renquinggang mart in TAR on the opening day, while 81 traders from TAR had visited Sherathang mart in India. The volume of business was yet to pick up for the Indian traders due to restriction on the export of non-basmati rice as well as the cap of the list of items on the export list.
