ISLAMABAD: Pakistan may benefit from the trade war between the United States and China that has led to a 62% ($360 billion) rise in the cost of bilateral trade causing a slump in the global economy, says the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

“For Pakistan, the imposition of these cross-tariffs offers some interesting opportunities as well as challenges. On a positive note, key food items, such as rice, seafood and soybean (both seeds and oil), have come in the crosshairs, which offer an opportunity to Pakistan to reduce its trade deficit,” the SBP said in its first-quarter report on the state of economy for fiscal year 2018-19.

With the world’s two largest economies slapping additional tariffs on thousands of each other’s goods since July 2018, one of those product categories may give Pakistan the opportunity to increase exports.

“Specifically, American seafood exports to China are now much costlier as a result of the tariffs, as are Chinese exports of rice and cotton items to the US,” the central bank said.

China is a major global importer of seafood products, importing 16.3% of its overall seafood imports, worth $1.3 billion, from the US in 2017.

“It mainly imports lobsters, oysters, flatfish and sardines, all of which are now attracting additional tariffs, and all of which are also exported by Pakistan,” it said.

Pakistan’s global exports of these products amounted to $338.9 million in FY18 and constituted 75.1% of the country’s overall seafood exports.

“As the US seafood exports to China have now become much costlier, Pakistani exporters might increase their presence in the Chinese market,” the SBP said.