Srinagar: Union Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh said that the Centre has sanctioned setting up of a Rs 35 crore international trade centre at Pampore in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) is making a plan for the projected centre to be submitted to the state government on October 10. The cornerstone would be laid on the 3rd week of October, Mr. Ramesh told newspersons before leaving for Delhi at the end of his three-day visit to the state.

He said his Ministry aims to arrange a big Kashmir Expo here in October that would be an annual trait.

Chennai-based Leather Council is assigning a group to Kashmir next month to discover the possibility of setting up of a footwear industry in the state, he said.

The Union Minister stated the Centre was also desperate to encourage seabuckthorn business in Leh and apricot in Kargil dominions of Ladakh region.

Ramesh said Ladakh is the only place in India where seabuckthorn is farmed and the Centre would take all possible actions to encourage it. He said it has rich nutrient plus therapeutic value and would bring in good prices in national as well as international market.

He told he demanded the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council to make a thorough project report at the earliest and pass on it to his Ministry.

Ramesh said nearly 11,000 tonnes of seabuckthorn is farmed in Leh that would be increased by 15 to 20 per cent and make it a key industry to produce employment in the region.