Pakistan cries foul on import of Indian granite

The Dollar Business Bureau

The members of All Pakistan Marble Mining Processing Industry and Exporters Association (APMMPIEA) were miffed with the import of the banned product from India, the granite. According to them, $4.5 million worth of granite was exported to India from July 2015 to March 2016, against $10 million worth marble that was imported from the country in the same time frame.

This is mainly because of the negligence of Pakistan Customs. The Customs Valuation Law for finished granite is misrepresented under HC Code 6802.2300, under Appendix G of Import Policy Ordinance 2013. The Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) wasn’t followed properly by the officials. As the banned item is easily available in the market, the local marble industry is facing severe competition, APMMPIEA claimed.

The Pakistani granite industry people asked the Customs officials to strictly punish and levy penalty on those who import banned items, in order to encourage the potential of the local marble industry. The overall exports of marble from July 2015 to March 2016 decreased $21.895 at $32.695 million, when compared to $54.59 million in the same period previous year, APMMPIEA Chairman Sanaullah Khan said.

He said that the export target was fixed at $60 million for FY 2016. The global trade in marble and granite was estimated at $44.5 billion per annum. Pakistan still remains a marginal player in the market. With much improvement needed in the infrastructure, the granite sector is poised to play an effective role in enhancing the exports of Pakistan, he added.

“The government has approved Karachi Marble City proposal submitted from APMMPIEA and around 350 acre of land on Northern Bypass has been already allocated for this project. The federal government has sanctioned funds for the development of a marble city, but due to delays on some pretext or other, the project has been in the doldrums,” he further added.

With the establishment of the marble city, marble exports from Pakistan would increase to $2.5 billion in the coming decade and the number of industrial units would also go up to 5,000, the APMMPIEA Chairman expected.