India-Bangladesh trade flows smooth: Govt

The disruptions that had been reported in India-Bangladesh trade due to the political disturbances in the eastern neighbour have largely been addressed though the situation is being closely monitored, a senior official said Wednesday.
“We believe that between India and Bangladesh there should be improvement in trade so we feel whatever best efforts we can make should be made,” commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

Since the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned last week following nationwide student protests there have been concerns on whether trade between India and Bangladesh – which is substantial – could continue..

In 2023-24, the bilateral goods trade between India and Bangladesh was $12.9 billion, with a trade surplus of $9.3 billion in favour of India.
Trade between the two neighbours have been on the decline in recent years, partly due to the dollar shortage witnessed by Bangladesh buyers that made payments difficult. Low domestic demand in Bangladesh due to high inflation also adversely affected shipments from India.
The Indian companies, who have garment units in Bangladesh, had reported shutdowns for a couple of days but now production in their units have resumed, another official said. The official also added that so far there has been no communication or complaint for Indian exporters of any delay in payments faced by them.
Garments account for 85% of exports and 20% of GDP in Bangladesh. Major fast fashion giants like H&M and Zara source significant quantities of their apparel from Bangladesh. They are doubling down on their commitment to Bangladesh, even going so far as to airlift garments to ensure global supply chains remain intact, according to Global Trade Research Initiative.
Barthwal who visited Moscor for the 14th BRICS trade ministers’ meeting said at the bilateral meetings with Russian counterparts discussions were held to improve trade between the two countries and to facilitate Rupee-Rouble trade.
“We also discussed how non tariff barriers are impacting our trade and how they should be reduced. We have started working in this direction,” he said.
Discussions were also held on diversification of trade and move beyond petroleum. Last year India’s exports to Russia were $ 4.2 billion while imports were $ 61.4 billion and this trade has to be balanced to make trade in local currencies successful.
For local currency trade between India and Russia 53 VOSTRO accounts have been opened but this trade will be effective only if trade is balanced, Barthwal said.