New Delhi, May 18 India's decision to restrict imports from Bangladesh is expected to hit goods worth $770 million (Rs 6,600 crore) that flow in through the cross-border trade points with the neighbouring country.
"Readymade garments, valued at $618 million (Rs 5,290 crore), now face strict routing through only two Indian seaports. This severely limits Bangladesh’s most valuable export channel to India," said Ajay Srivastava, founder of think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
The other goods that have been barred from entry into India through the land customs stations on the border include fruit-flavoured carbonated drinks, processed foods, cotton and cotton yarn waste, plastic and PVC finished goods, and wooden furniture. The total value of these items is pegged at around $153 million (Rs 1,310 crore).
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification imposing land port restrictions on the import of goods such as readymade garments, processed food items etc., from Bangladesh to India with immediate effect on Saturday.
“However, such said port restriction will not apply to Bangladesh goods transiting through India but destined for Nepal and Bhutan,” the DGFT said in its notification.
According to the directive, “Import of all kinds of Ready-Made Garments from Bangladesh shall not be allowed from any land port, however, it is allowed only through Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports”.
These items “shall not be allowed through any Land Customs Stations (LCSs)/ Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; and LCS Changrabandha and Fulbari, in West Bengal".
"The port restrictions do not apply to the import of Fish, LPG, edible oil, and crushed stone from Bangladesh,” the notification further read.
The Indian move came after the Bangladesh government in April banned the import of yarns from India to the country via land ports through a notification from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Earlier, India terminated the trans-shipment facility for Bangladesh, which allowed the latter to export its products to other countries through Indian seaports and airports.
India is Bangladesh's second-largest trading partner after China. In the fiscal 2022-23, Bangladesh-India trade amounted to around $16 billion.
Bangladesh imported goods worth about $14 billion, while its exports to India stood at $2 billion, as per industry data.
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