Shimla, Nov. 14 -- Expressing concern over the adverse impact of online sales, traders from Kinnaur participating in the International Lavi fair, press for resumption of the trade with China through Shipki-La border in Himachal's Kinnaur district. The four-day International Lavi fair at Rampur Bushahr in Shimla district was inaugurated by the governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Tuesday. The Kinnauri Market at Lavi fair in Rampur Bushahr is famous for dry fruits and local produce. The fair, known for its cultural and trade heritage, is steadily becoming a major hub for the sale of traditional local produce. During inauguration, governor Shukla said that he as well as the state government had taken up the matter with the Centre, and it was being pursued by Union minister of commerce Piyush Goel. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had earlier emphasised that Shipki La, once an offshoot of the legendary Silk Route and formalised as a border trade point under the Indo-China bilateral agreement of 1994, played a vital role in trans-Himalayan economic and cultural exchanges. On June 10, the chief minister launched tourism activities from Shipki-La on the Indo-Tibet Border. In August, the Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar had informed the state government that the government of India had initiated discussions with China for the resumption of border trade through all three designated points: Shipki-La (Himachal Pradesh), Lipulekh (Uttarakhand), and Nathu La (Sikkim). Now the traders from Kinnaur, who have been coming to the international Lavi fair for the past three decades, expressed concern over the impact of online sales on their business. Additionally, the closure of the trade route is gradually affecting the trade fair's vibrancy, they said. A large number of items, including wool, raw silk, yak hair, China clay, borax, butter, common salt, ready-made garments, shoes, quilts, blankets, carpets, and local herbal medicines, as well as animals such as horses, goats, sheep, were earlier imported from China, and drew people to buy these goods, according to traders. Himachal Pradesh shares a 240-km boundary with China, 160 km in Kinnaur and 80 km in Lahaul-Spiti. Shipki La has long served as a vital trade corridor between India and Tibet. Trade through Shipki La was first resumed in 1992, having been halted after the 1962 war with China. The trade between the two countries, usually based on the barter system that is done between June 1 to November 30 each year, had stopped after the 1962 war. In 1992, the trade resumed again from Shipki La pass in Kinnaur and Nathu La in Sikkim after India and China signed a protocol. The trade between the two neighbours, after it was resumed in 1992, had gradually increased in volume from Rs.8.59 crore in 2016 to Rs.59.21 crore in 2017, barring occasional dips due to standoffs between the two nations like the Doklam clash. The last time the trade took place in 2019, the volume was Rs.3.05 crore. It usually takes place from June 1 to November 30 each year, once traders are issued permits by the industries department and the local administration. Although the official start is June, in practice traders - mostly from Nako, Chuppan, Chango and Namgiya - travel to China only in September and October with their goods. The traders said that opening the trade through Shipki La will not just boost the sale of traditional items, generate employment, and benefit traders on both sides. "The sale of traditional items like woollens, pasham (wool), and dry fruits saw a boost then, as Chinese goods would be sold in Rampur, and our goods would be sold to traders from Tibet," said Ami Chand, a trader from Kinnaur said on Thursday. Another trader Vidya Negi, also said the resumption of trade would benefit traders from both sides. "We want the trade to be resumed so that the traditional items can be exchanged and goods arrive in greater quantities. The online trade is adversely hampering the sales during the fair. The items which we would get from traders from across the borders are now missing which were an added attraction to the fair" he said. Adequate supplies stabilise the prices this year at Kinnauri Market The Kinnauri Market at the internationally renowned Lavi Fair in Rampur Bushahr, famous for dry fruits and local produce, may be abuzz with traditional products this year but low prices of products to hit the profit margin of the traders. Due to a normal yield, prices of most items have remained stable....