Smuggling of Indian goods hurting exchequer, traders and consumers
Saturday, February 13, 2010
By Samia Saleem
KARACHI: As customers flock at the shop of Amjad Mansoor asking for the latest Indian goods ranging from fairness creams to confectioneries and even razor blades and locks, he feels that the prices would be fair for customers and profit margins much higher for traders if these items were coming via legal trade.
Mansoor, who claims to be in retail and wholesale business in consumer goods for his entire life, says that Indian goods are in high demand in the entire country but these are smuggled illegally.
It is no secret that our import list with India declares hardly 30-40 items, but the local markets are aw3ash with goods coming form the neighbouring country.
The popularity of these goods is so much so that even if local Pakistani companies start manufacturing the same, people would still ask for the original Indian product, Mansoor told The News. “Although the Bio Amla Hair Oil, which is the same as the Dabur Amla Hair Oil of Indian origin, and made with the same formula as of Dabur’s, people still decline the local oil in favour of the Indian one,” he said. Similarly, even if Fair & Lovely introduced the same formula of Ayurvedic cream followed in India, customers would still prefer the Indian product.
“This demand comes in the market as soon as a commercial is shown on Indian television channels, and we get demand requests within an hour,” Amjad Mansoor said. However, any new Indian product in demand over here takes about a month to reach the Pakistani markets, said he. “Since these products are not registered in the import lists, it is obvious they reach through illegal means.”
Speaking about the immensity of the Indian products in Pakistani markets,
he said that only cosmetic products imported from the neighbour make a list of a minimum 225 items, including shampoos, deodorants, sprays, masks, creams, oils, gels and products by other famous brands as Himalayas, etc. Besides these, there are health drinks like Bournvita, Complan, toiletries by Paras, medicines and pain relievers, eg, by Himani, and many other products. Quite a few of these items have little or no production in Pakistan.
Amjad Mansoor claimed that the razor blades used by almost 80 per cent barbers in Pakistan come from India. “About 80 per cent of the barbers in Pakistan use Indian blades, of brands like Ashok, Tentwin, Panama, Topaz, etc, all of which are smuggled into Pakistan regularly and we have no local companies producing them in abundance,” said another dealer.
He did not mention the leading local manufacturer of shaving products Treet and global leader Gillet that have market presence in every nook and corner of the country.
“Pakistanis trust in Indian products can be gauged from the fact that people have now started asking for Godrej locks too instead of the Chinese ones as they say they are more reliable,” he added.