Resume cross-border trade with China via Shipki La: Traders

Traders from Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts say that the famed Lavi Fair of Rampur, 130 km from here, is losing its sheen and the reopening of the mountain pass will benefit them as well as buyers.

“Many people, who visit the fair to specifically buy Chinese goods, are no longer as enthusiastic as earlier. Opening the border will help expand trade and benefit traders on both sides,” said Meena Devi, a trader from Shaung village in Sangla. The closure of the Tibet border has significantly impacted business, she added.

Cross-border trade through the Shipki La mountain pass in Kinnaur was halted in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions and has not been resumed since then.

Items such as wool, raw silk, yak hair, China clay, borax, butter, common salt, horses, goats, sheep, readymade garments, shoes, quilts, blankets, carpets and herbal medicines, among other things, were imported from China. The Indo-China Trade Association of Kinnaur, along with the district administration, has written to the state government urging it to raise the issue with the Centre.