'Indonesia and Pakistan have been enjoying good bilateral relations. Pakistan imports tea, palm oil, paper and paper products, tyres and tubes, crockery, machinery, plastic, chemicals and cosmetic products whereas the range of products imported by Indonesia is still limited to traditional products like raw cotton, cotton fabrics, yarn, synthetic fibre, leather and fruits.
Indonesia imports from Pakistan have decreased from US $124.41 million to US $73.37 million in 2003 that is an alarming situation', he said.
Tawana said that imposition of 25 percent custom duty on the import of Kinno from Pakistan is a serious blow to the exporters, as it constitutes 40 percent of the total exports of Kinno from Pakistan. These trade barriers, duties and tariffs are detrimental to the bilateral trade, he added.
He recommended the government to impose regulatory duty on palm oil and other products imported from Indonesia, as a counter measure to protect the interest of Pakistani Kinno exporters. He was of the view that the Chinese exporters are all set to capture this market due to substantial advantage on duties and any delay in the decision making process shall cause an irreparable loss.