Pakistan's export to China showed an upward trend, registering an increase of about 39.2 percent last year, according to the Chinese Custom Authority.

The export was amounted to $832 million from January to December, 2005. Whereas it was $594 million in the previous year (January-December. 2004). Therefore, the increase in Pakistan's export to China in a period of one year was amounted to about $ 238 million.

The Custom Authority sources told APP here Saturday there was a considerable jump in the export items like cotton yarn, cotton fabric, leather, chromium ore, copper and fishes. The Chinese side calculates the export figures on the basis of the origin of the exported items, including those come to the mainland through Hong Kong and the Chinese financial calendar is counted from January to December.

When asked to comment on future prospects of Pakistan's trade with China, Commercial Counsellor in Pakistan Embassy Shahid Mahmood said there is still a great room for enhancing exports, particularly of valued-added textile products including cotton fabrics, manmade fabric, home textile and towels.

Chinese growing market also provides wide opportunities to Pakistani traders to enhance their export in non-traditional items like sport and engineering goods, handicrafts, marble, onyx, jewelry and agro-based products.

Pakistan's export to China is likely to get further boost, with the reduction of tariff on a number of trading items under the Early Harvest Programme (EHP) that came into effect from January, 2006. The margin of duty-reduction from the Chinese side is around 27 percent.

Shahid Mahmood hoped that the trade volume will increase in the coming months, when the list of export's items to China will also include rice, mango and some other agro-based products. There are bright prospects taking Pakistan's annual export volume to dollar one billion by the end of this year.

An official of the Chinese Commerce Ministry suggested that maximum number of Pakistani businessmen should visit China to explore new openings in the trade sector.

According to the economic experts, there are very favourable indications for the two countries to take their overall trade to around dollar one billion by the end of 2008, when tariff on most of the items would come to zero, under the EHP.

The two sides have now resorted to economic diplomacy to exploit their deep-rooted traditional political and diplomatic ties for the economic uplift of their people. Over the years, the leadership of the two countries laid greater thrust on the development of their mutually beneficial economic partnership, they added.