Trade with Pak secondary, tea exporters say after terror

Enraged by the killings of CRPF soldiers by a Pakistan based terror outfit in Jammu and Kashmir Thursday, major tea exporters said they stood by the government and business has now become secondary.

"We are not even thinking of trading with Pakistan now. We stand firmly behind the government and waiting for what the government is going to do", chairman of India Tea Exporters Association (ITEA) Angshuman Kanoria said.

Gopal Poddar, one of the leading tea exporters to Pakistan, said, "We are not bothered about business now. Commerce is secondary now," he told PTI.

Tea exports to Pakistan grew marginally in 2018 to 15.83 million kilograms from 14.73 million kilograms in 2017.

Following the terror attack at Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, India has withdrawn the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan.