Abstract:
South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was founded to achieve better
standards of living through greater development in South Asia. SAARC has moved nearer in even
though many of its member countries failed to realize the benefit of developing intra-regional trade.
Despite the formation of a South Asian Free Trading Area (SAFTA) intra-regional trade performance
is not satisfactory relative to South Asia’s total trade flow. The main objective of this study is to
identify the impediments to boost the intra- to a status of a borderless market regional trade flow of
South Asian Region. The study selected the qualitative research methodology where twenty indepth
face to face interviews were carried out with both local as well as regional stakeholders who
engage in South Asian regional trade activities. Template analysis was used as the method of data
analysis. Secondary data sources used to triangulate the interview data. The research identified four
(4) major impediments as the Regional market structure, Regional social structure, Political and
economic structure, and Tariff structure. Implications and recommendation developed as it was
identified the attractiveness of niche markets, the suitability of localizing marketing strategies, the
advantage of entering into strategic alliances between regional and outside companies, and
suitability of developing a regional supply chain network and a regional brand name.
