Pakistan tea traders seek duty cut

Tea arrives in Karachi before being sent to "dry ports" such as Lahore

Pakistan's tea traders have urged the government to cut import duties to take away the incentive for smuggling.

The traders say they are suffering because up to 30% of the tea brought into the country comes via illegal means.

Pakistan imports about 140 million kilogrammes of tea a year - most of it from Kenya.

Tea importers are concerned about increasing collusion between smugglers and corrupt customs officials.

Before the recent US military action in Afghanistan, tea entered Pakistan without duty, on the pretext that its final destination was Afghanistan.

Once tea containers were delivered to Afghanistan, they were quickly returned to Pakistan through the mountain passes.

'Dry ports'

In the past, calls for tighter controls were ignored as Pakistan was a close ally of the Taliban regime.

The method being used to smuggle tea now was "dry ports", Pakistan Tea Association secretary KNA Farooqui told the BBC's World Business Report.

Tea arrives in Karachi from Mombasa, Kenya in closed containers and is then forwarded to dry ports such as Lahore.

"Valuations there are anybody's guess - they don't apply values that apply to Karachi's customs," he said.

He said the association had taken up the matter with the authorities, who had not been able to implement effective measures.

"The solution is to reduce the duty," he said.

But, said Mr Farooqui, the government was unlikely to do this because the revenue generated from tea duties was too valuable a part of its overall income.