The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) – the top government body responsible for promoting exports – expects to double Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka to $500 million from the current $267 million within a year, The Express Tribune said.

“Pakistan can easily double exports to Sri Lanka in a year’s time by effectively using the duty concessions under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA),” TDAP Secretary Rabiya Javeri Agha said in an interview with the Pakistani newspaper.

After the initial success, both countries failed to fully utilise the FTA that came into effect in 2005. As a result, bilateral trade remains range bound with an average of $350 million for the last six years.

The trade balance is heavily in favour of Pakistan. Its exports to Sri Lanka amounted to $267 million while Sri Lankan exports to Pakistan were worth just $58 million, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data (2014-15).

Pakistan plans to organise a single-country exhibition from January 15-17 in Colombo with an aim to boost exports.

The TDAP has prioritised sectors such as textile, pharmaceutical, engineering goods and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the exhibition.

“We have given priority to these sectors as we believe these are the areas where Pakistan has the potential to multiply its exports,” said Agha. “Our next target will be to increase exports to $1 billion but that obviously will take a few more years.”

Out of the total $267 million worth of exports to Sri Lanka in fiscal year 2014-15, $89 million or 33% constituted only cotton cloth – a traditional Pakistani export item, the Express Tribune pointed out.

The second and third top exported items to Sri Lanka were cement ($37 million) and pharmaceuticals ($20 million). Other mentionable products were vegetables, rice, value-added textile, bed wear and other commodities.

(With inputs from The Express Tribune)