E-Paper
Expedite setting up quarantine centre, lift ban on livestock trading: Traders to dist admn
The trade has been stopped since 2019 and the livestock trading was banned in 2012 due to the absence of quarantine facilities
With India and China agreeing to reopen trade through the Shipki La Pass, the local traders have approached the district administration seeking the lifting of ban on livestock trading along with expediting the setting up of quarantine facility at the trade centre at Chupan (Namgiya).
The trade has been stopped since 2019 and the livestock trading was banned in 2012 due to the absence of quarantine facilities.
Shipki La Pass is strategic pass near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and has long served as a vital trade corridor between India and Tibet.
The Kinnaur Indo-China Trade Association urged the Kinnaur deputy commission-cum-trade authority for Indo-China border trade via Shipki La to expedite setting up quarantine laboratory so that livestock trade can resume.
Livestock was once a major component of the annual cross-border trade with China – undertaken on the barter system — that used to commence in June and end in November, when the pass closes due to snowfall. High quality raw wool from cashmere goats, reared in the remote regions of Tibet, was much preferred by the Indian traders. Besides, yak tails topped the trading list.
“Livestock used to be the major trade and the biggest hitch is the absence of a quarantine station. We have demanded a quarantine facility on the border as that hit the cattle trade. I requested the DC to take up the issue,” Hishey Negi, president of the Kinnaur Indo-China Trade Association. He pointed out the high demand for the Chigu goat, which was previously imported from China into India.
“The ban on the livestock imports from China has severely affected the business of the sturdy Chamurthi horses and Chigu goats – the main attraction of the cross border trade. The animals are in great demand in Kinnaur and other mountainous regions. We are requesting the expedition of the quarantine centre so that livestock trading can resume,” said Suraj Parkash, a trader from Namgiya.
Currently, 20 items are on the import list, including wool, pashmina, sheep skin, yak tails, yak hair, salt, shoes, blankets, quilts, carpets and herbal medicines. The export list carries 36 items such as coffee, tea, barley, rice, wheat, flour, dry fruits, tobacco, cigarettes, canned food, spices, watches, shoes, utensils, and handloom and handicraft items.
The traders have pointed out that many residents of Namgiya, Chuppan, Nako and Chango villages are economically dependent on the cross-border trade, which is undertaken on the barter system along Shipki La, so steps must be taken to its resumption. Moreover, some traders are awaiting the payment of their pending dues for the past five years, as the trade has not resumed after 2020.
Kinnaur deputy commissioner Amit Sharma said, “Every year, trade is held through Shipki La from June 1 to November 30. We have held informal consultation with the traders to see what ground support they need as the talks of opening Shipki La advance. The traders have primarily want us to hold workshops and speed up setting of the quarantine facility.”
Stopped after 1962, trade again resumed in 1992
The trade between the two countries, usually based on the barter system, had stopped after the 1962 war. In 1992, the trade resumed again from Shipki La pass in Kinnaur and Nathu La in Sikkim after India and China signed a protocol.
After it was resumed, it gradually increased in volume from ₹8.59 crore in 2016 to ₹59.21 crore in 2017, barring occasional dips due to standoffs between the two nations like the Doklam clash. The last time the trade took place was in 2019 and the volume was ₹3.05 crore.
The trade usually happed from June 1 to November 30 each year after the traders are issued permits by the industries department and the local administration. Although the official start is June, in practice traders — mostly from Nako, Chuppan, Chango and Namgiya — travel to China in September and October with their goods.
Traders demand skill-building workshop
The traders, in order to make business more viable, have urged the district administration to hold skill-building workshop as some items on the import list, such as borax, szaibelyite and china clay, are little known among them in terms of use, demand and market potential.
The local traders have called for a revision of the export and import items list to make business more viable. The last batch of traders returned from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China on November 30, 2019, following the outbreak of Covid. Trade has remained suspended since then.
“We have asked them to revise the trade list, which has not been changed since 2012, and also to get the expired Import Export Code (IEC) revived since it has lapsed as no trade has taken place after 2019,” said Hishey Negi.
“With the talks of Indo China to open trade had rekindled the hope among the as the residents of villages along the China border that the trade is resumed this year,” said Negi. He added that he had sought about 150 trade passes for local traders this year.
The Kinnaur district administration has urged the Industries Department to talk to the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in this regard.
