ISLAMABAD: As a fresh impetus to the Gwadar transshipment drive, Gwadar Port has received a mega vessel loaded with 34,000 tons of DAP fertilizers to be processed and discharged to Afghanistan as per the Pakistan-Afghanistan transit trade deal.
The Pacific Integrity, a vessel loaded with 34,000 tons of DAP fertilizers, arrived at Gwadar Port on the morning of October 3rd.
The fertilizer is imported by a joint venture of Agven Private Limited and KB Fertilizer, two private enterprises registered in the Gwadar Free Zone area.
An Agven official told Gwadar Pro that after offloading the fertilizers, the next step is to pack a huge quantity of fertilizer at a warehouse jointly sub-leased by both entities in the Gwadar Free Zone.
After the packing process is completed, all packets will be transported by trucks to Afghanistan, he added.
This is the second consignment delivered to Afghanistan in 2023. The last time during the current year, a private sector consignment of 20,000 tons of DAP fertilizer was sent from Gwadar Port to Afghanistan on May 31, 2023.
This batch of DAP fertilizer was imported from Australia. DAP is used in various industrial processes, such as metal finishing. It also improves crop yield besides the development and growth of flowering plants or leafy plants.
In 2022, Gwadar Port processed a private sector consignment of 8,000 tons of DAP fertilizers and transported it via road to Afghanistan. In 2021, a total of 500 tons of fertilizers were shipped out of the port’s warehouse by a fleet of Pakistani trucks from Gwadar Port.
In April 2020, the federal government allowed the import of fertilizers at Gwadar Port and onward transit to Afghanistan through bonded carriers — insured and sealable trucks with a tracking device.
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC), at the request of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), the Gwadar International Terminals Limited, and other stakeholders, issued an Office Memorandum (MO) titled ‘Implementation of the Import and Export Policy Orders through Shipping Procedure and Instructions for the Operationalization of Gwadar Port’.
The petitions of all stakeholders were examined in the light of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) of 2010, specifically Article 21(1)(c) which allows transit of “bulk cargo (not imported in containers — like ship load) in open trucks or other transport units.”
Economist Shahid Hussain told Gwadar Pro that Pakistan can reach its true potential for transshipment when China, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian economies are connected with Gwadar through land routes.
