Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) officials said Pakistan sold goods worth Rs 4.15 billion ($90 million) to India and imported from it Rs 6.90 billion ($150 million) worth of products. Pakistan sold 25 items to India and purchased 26 items in 1997-98. Sugar, fruit and vegetables were the major exports and they fetched Rs 3.45 billion ($75 million).

Other items exported to India included fish worth $290,000, spices for $100,000, oil seeds and oleaginous fruits for $605,000, raw cotton for $68,000, wood worth $388,000, salt for $330,000, crude vegetable material worth $1.22 million; $16,000 worth medical and pharmaceutical products, $929,000 of leather, $730,00 of cotton yarn, $61,000 of yarn and thread, $364,000 of cotton fabrics (woven), $2,000 of art silk and synthetic textile, $20,000 of bags and sacks, $94,000 of carpets and rugs, $83,000 of pearlsand precious stones; base metals of $63,000, machinery of $33,000 and miscellaneous manufactured articles for $18,000.

Pakistan's imports included fruit and vegetables worth $12.46 million, sugar raw/refined for $12.916 million, spices for $4.14 million, feed for animals for $25.45 million, oilseeds and oleaginous fruits for $246,000, ores and concentrates of iron/steel $15.548 million, crude vegetable materials for $6.2 million, chemical and compounds for $8.89 million, dyeing, tanning/colouring materials worth $12.80 million, medical and pharmaceutical products for $3.186 million, tyres and tubes worth $10.20 million and yarns for $108,000.

In 1996-97 Pakistan imported sugar, onions and potatoes in large quantities from India and in 1997-98 the trend reversed. In 1998-99 trade balance is expected to improve in Pakistan's favour because of continuous export of sugar in bulk to India. Pakistan and India conduct two-way trade by sea and by rail. EPB officials noted that the two countries are yet to tapthe full potential of bilateral trade.

They share a common border, which gives them the advantage of having low freight charges and quick passage. Each consignment from distant countries reaches Pakistan after two months, that too at a huge freight cost. Goods going from India to Pakistan or vice versa reach within two weeks and transportation costs very little.