44 items on trade list through Nathu La pass

Gangtok, Jul 5: India and China have agreed to trade in 44 items through the Nathu La pass which is re-opening tomorrow after a long gap of 44 years since it was closed in 1962 in the wake of Sino-Indian conflict.

Depending upon the volume of trade the number of items for the trade would be increased as when required.

As per the agreement signed between the two countries at Lhasa in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China last month, 29 items have been identified for export from India to China and 15 items for import from China to India.

The 29 items exportable from India to China are agriculture implements, blankets, copper products, clothes, cycles, coffee, tea, barley, rice, flour, dry fruit, dry and fresh vegetables, vegetable oil, gur and misri, tobacco, snuff, spices, shoes, kerosene oil, stationery, utencils, wheat, liquor, milk processed product, canned food, cigarettes, local herb, palm oil and hardware.

The 15 items selected for import from China are goat skin, sheep skin, wool, raw silk, yak tail, yak hair, china clay, borax, seaibelyipe, butter, goat kashmiri, common salt, horse, goat and sheep.

The import of horse, goat and sheep could take place only from four designated seaports of Kolkotta, Mumbai, Cochin and Chennai, it said.

UNI