Pakistan, China Launch Green Channel at Sost-Khunjerab for Agricultural Trade
Pakistan and China have signed a landmark agreement to operationalise a green channel at the Sost-Khunjerab border, specifically designed to facilitate bilateral trade in agricultural and allied products.
The agreement was signed online between the customs administrations of both countries at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday. The Pakistani delegation was led by Member Customs (Operations) Syed Shakeel Shah, while the Chinese side was headed by Li Qinghua, deputy head of Urumqi Customs and director of Tashkurgan Customs.
According to an official announcement, the agreement aims to establish a dedicated green channel for an agreed list of agricultural products, allowing eligible consignments to undergo priority processing and examination while maintaining risk-based customs controls. The arrangement also includes provisions for enhanced information sharing and the exchange of risk alerts between the two customs administrations to strengthen coordination and improve cross-border trade management.
A key feature of the agreement is the priority handling of perishable consignments to minimise delays and ensure their timely movement across the border, a critical factor for agricultural trade where freshness and speed are paramount.
The Pakistani delegation comprised a comprehensive group of stakeholders, including the chief collector of customs, Peshawar; the collector of customs, Gilgit-Baltistan; representatives of the Department of Plant Protection, NAFSA, Pakistan Single Window, and the Ministry of Commerce; along with the commercial counsellor at the Pakistan embassy in China.
The operationalisation of the green channel is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of agricultural trade and strengthen customs cooperation between the two nations. The Khunjerab Pass, which connects Gilgit-Baltistan with China's Xinjiang region, holds the distinction of being the highest paved international border at 15,500 feet above sea level. Under the border protocol agreement signed between the two countries in 1985, the pass remains open for travel and trade between April and November, with winter months seeing trade and travel hampered by excessive snowfall.
The economic significance of this route is underscored by recent figures. Last year, Pakistan Customs collected Rs15 billion in revenue on imports from China through the Khunjerab Pass, breaking the previous record. Additionally, goods worth Rs2.8 billion were exported to China and Central Asian countries through this strategic border crossing, highlighting its growing importance for regional trade and connectivity.