China signs protocol to import tobacco leaves from India

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China and India on Monday signed a protocol to import Indian tobacco leaves to China, the world's largest consumer and producer of tobacco.

The protocol was signed by India's Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and Zhang Jiwen, Vice Minister of General Administration of China Customs (GACC), according to a statement from the Indian Embassy in Beijing.

"Quality tobacco on par with international standards is available in India at competitive prices and there is good potential for export of Indian tobacco to China," the statement said, adding: "The revival of the phytosanitary protocol with China will pave the way for revival of Indian tobacco exports to China and prove economically beneficial to Indian farmers."

During his talks with Zhang, Wadhawan, who is on a two-day official visit to China, complimented GACC for addressing some long pending agricultural market access issues for Indian products, following discussions between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan last year.

India's Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan (L) during his meeting with Zhang Jiwen, Vice Minister of General Administration of China Customs (GACC), in Beijing, China, on January 21, 2019. /Photo via the Embassy of India, Beijing

Since the informal summit, the protocol on exports of non-basmati rice was signed in June 2018. GACC has also approved six Indian mills for export of rapeseed meal to China. The protocol on exports of fish meal and fish oil was signed in November 2018.

The GACC has also assigned experts to inspect Indian soybean meal establishments and pomegranate orchards and pack houses in December 2018. The SPS Protocols for these products are at an advanced stage of negotiation, the statement said.

"The recent period has thus seen significant progress in market access for a number of agricultural and allied products from India. The Commerce Secretary requested the GACC to expedite market access for other products like okra, soybean, bovine meat and dairy products,” it said.

On Tuesday, Wadhawan will meet Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen to discuss the progress made under Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations and efforts to strengthen bilateral trade.

RCEP aims at liberalizing norms for trade in goods and services and boost investment among its 16-member countries. The last round of talks was held in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad last year.

Wadhawan in his talks with Wang is expected to raise the issue of access to India's pharmaceutical products and IT, according to a Press Trust of India. Last year, China agreed to slash tariffs on the import of Indian medicine, including anti-cancer drugs, which have a substantial demand in China due to cheaper pricing than their Western variants.

(Cover: Indian farmers work in a tobacco plantation at Dhamasana village of Kalol Taluka, near Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, on March 13, 2014. /VCG Photo)