Despite turbulence, Indo-Bangladesh trade via Bengal land ports likely to normalise soon | Business & Politics News

Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia, and India is the neighbouring country’s second largest trading partner in Asia | Photo: Shutterstock

3 minutes reading Last update : August 7, 2024 | 2:31 p.m. IST

Despite the ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh, trade between India and the neighbouring country through land ports in West Bengal is likely to normalise soon as some movement of goods through one of these facilities was reported on Wednesday, officials said.

A meeting between the land port authorities of the two countries is scheduled to take place at South Asia’s largest land port, Petrapole, in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, which is expected to “provide clarity on the transportation of goods”, officials said.

The Director General of the Border Security Force was also in Petrapole on Tuesday to review the situation along the international border in the wake of the Bangladesh crisis.

“Trucks are getting ready and some movement of goods via Ghojadanga has started towards the Bangladeshi side. This is possible because the situation in Bhomra in the neighbouring country, across Ghojadanga, remains stable,” said Joydev Sarkar, convener of the Transport and Transit Officers Welfare Association.

Essential commodities like black stone, chillies, turmeric and wheat bran are exported to Bangladesh from the land port in North 24 Parganas district.

Another trader noted that trucks in Mahadipur, Malda are also being prepared for export of goods.

An official of the C&F Agents Association of Benapole Port in Bangladesh said trade had not yet resumed.

“The trucks are ready, but the Indian side is showing some concerns,” he said.

During the planned meeting, the problems are expected to be resolved and trade will be normalized, he said.

India remains concerned about the law and order situation in Bangladesh and reports of attacks on minorities.

Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia, and India is the neighbouring country’s second largest trading partner in Asia.

India’s exports to Bangladesh have fallen to $11 billion in 2023-24 from $12.21 billion in 2022-23.

Imports also declined from $2 billion in 2022-23 to $1.84 billion in the last fiscal.

India’s major exports to Bangladesh include vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, sugar, confectionery, refined petroleum, chemicals, cotton, iron and steel and vehicles.

In contrast, Bangladesh’s exports to India are concentrated in a few categories such as textiles and garments, which account for 56% of their shipments.

The death toll from anti-government protests in Bangladesh rose to 440 on Tuesday, local media reported, even as the military struggled to bring the situation under control in the violence-hit country.

Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus was appointed as Bangladesh’s interim government by President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following deadly protests against her government over a controversial job quota system.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: August 7, 2024 | 2:31 p.m. IST