Transport cost need to be reduced to make trade through Nathu La

Gangtok, July 11 (UNI) The transport cost of goods need to be reduced to make the border trade through recently opened Nathu La pass on the Indo-China border economically viable, Sikkim Chamber of Commerce(SCC) President S K Sarda said here today.

Mr Sarda said at present transport cost of goods from Siliguri in West Bengal to Gangtok is very high. ''We will soon talk with the transporters to reduce the freight charge,'' he said.

Citing an example, he said transport cost of goods from Silguri to Delhi located at a distance of around 1500 km is almost equal to the transport cost of goods from Siliguri to Gangtok about 120 km away.

Mr Sarda said the goods needed to be competitive in terms of quality and price to make the border trade economically viable and to achieve this the transport cost should be cut considerably.

However, he said, the transport of goods through Nathu La from China to Ports in Kolkata would save time and money. It will help China to penetrate into the markets of other Asian countries at a minimum cost and time, he said.

While transport of goods from China through the waterways takes around a month and half, the transport of goods through Nathu La pass would take only around a week and cost one fifth of the cost incurred for sending goods through waterways.

Mr Sarda was hopeful that the border trade through Nathu La pass would soon be converted into a full scale bilateral trade and keeping this in view the big businessmen in Silguri had already started acquiring land for various purposes.

The SCC President said as many as 12 traders from Tibet Autonomous Region of China came to Sherathang trade mart in India with two truck loads of goat and sheep skin yesterday, the first trading day after the route was opened on July 6 and waiting for quartine clearance.

Mr Sarda suggested that the Indian business should learn the Chinese language to overcome the language problem and to interact with the Chinese businessmen.

Since the people on the Chinse side of the border do not know Hindi, English or Nepali, the lingua franca of the Sikkimese people ''we have to learn Chinese'', he said adding ''interpretors will not solve the problem''.

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