Border trade at Nathu La ends on sluggish note

NATHU LA - Trade between India and China through the fabled Silk Road has ended for 2009 after registering business worth Rs.9 million since May.

“Trade between the two countries have closed for this year Monday and would resume from May 1 until Nov 30 next year,” an official of Sikkim’s Industry and Commerce department said.

Under the agreement, trade takes place four days a week - Monday to Thursday - beginning May each year and lasting until Nov 30 when snow makes the area impassable.

“This year the two-way trade was sluggish with Indian traders doing business worth about Rs.9 million, while traders from the Tibet Autonomous Region did no business at all,” the official said.

In 2008, Chinese traders sold goods worth Rs.1,35,000.

Last year, the two countries did business worth about Rs.9.6 million, while in 2007 the volume of trade was to the tune of Rs.2.6 million. Bilateral trade in the first season in 2006 through Nathu La saw business worth about Rs.2 million.

“The first two months of trading in May-June were nil, but trading picked up in the later part of the season,” the official said.

India and China in 2006 re-opened trade across the 15,000-foot-high Nathu La pass, 52 km east of Sikkim capital Gangtok, as part of a broader rapprochement.

The move marked the first road trade link between the neighbours since their war in 1962.

Although trade was slow this year, about 800 Chinese traders crossed the border separated by a rusty barbed wire marker to the bazaar of Sherathang, five kilometres below the pass on the Indian side.

The sluggish border trade between the two countries is due to restrictions in tradable items - India can import 15 items from China including silk, yak pelts and horses, and export 29 goods that include textiles, tea, rice, vegetables and herbs.

Both China and Sikkim want the list of tradable items to be increased to help a booming trade across the roof of the world.

“Sikkim wants the list of items to be increased from 29 to 100 and include commodities like local beer, medicines, jam, processed food products, floriculture and horticultural products so that business grows,” S.K. Sarda of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, said.