Bangladesh faces $770 million hit due to India's curbs on trade

• NEW DELHI — India's decision to restrict imports from Bangladesh is expected to hit goods worth $770 million (INR 6,600 crore) that flow in through the cross-border trade points with the neighbouring country.
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• "Readymade garments, valued at $618 million (INR 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).
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• 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 (INR 1,310 crore).
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• 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.

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• “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.
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• 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”.
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• 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".
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• "The port restrictions do not apply to the import of Fish, LPG, edible oil, and crushed stone from Bangladesh,” the notification further read.
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• 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).
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• 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.
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• India is Bangladesh's second-largest trading partner after China. In the fiscal 2022-23, Bangladesh-India trade amounted to around $16 billion.
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• Bangladesh imported goods worth about $14 billion, while its exports to India stood at $2 billion, as per industry data.