Indian goods worth $10 billion being exported to Pakistan through Colombo, Dubai and Singapore ports

Trade barriers or not, there’s just no stopping Indian goods from going to Pakistan, reveals data. More than US$10 billion worth of Indian products make their way to Pakistan through third-party trade routes, such as the ports in Colombi, Dubai and Singapore, according to estimates from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

(According to a 2018 World Bank report titled Glass Half Full: Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia, trade between India and Pakistan could rise from the then-current level of approximately $2 billion to an estimated $37 billion annually if artificial barriers were eliminated. These barriers include tariff and non-tariff measures, lack of connectivity, and a trust deficit.)

Following the brutal terror attacks in Pahalgam, which resulted in the loss of 26 lives, GTRI noted that businesses have started utilising ports in Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo to facilitate the movement of Indian goods to Pakistan, thereby circumventing trade restrictions.