Desk Report,
India imposes new restrictions on Bangladesh’s jute exports
India has once again imposed restrictions on the import of Bangladeshi goods. Under this restriction, Indian traders will now not be able to import four types of jute products from Bangladesh through land ports. These products can only be imported through the country’s Navseva port in Mumbai. A notification has been issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India on Monday with such restrictions.
India imposes new restrictions on Bangladesh’s jute exports
According to the notification, the four products on which India has imposed import restrictions from Bangladesh are jute and jute-like products, jute rope or rope, rope or rope made of jute-like products, and jute sacks or bags. The notification said that this decision has been implemented immediately. As a result of this new restriction, if these products are to be exported to India, these products will have to be sent by sea through the Navseva port in Mumbai. According to relevant sources, about 1 percent of the amount of these products exported from Bangladesh to India goes by sea. The rest is exported by land. As a result, India has basically closed the easy way to export these products due to restrictions. When asked to know, Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) President Tapas Pramanik told Prothom Alo, “It’s like a fire is being extinguished one by one. India is taking all these steps that are negative for Bangladesh. We have told the government before, and now I will tell it again, that bilateral talks should be initiated regarding these restrictions.” In response to the question whether the Indian government will agree to sit in on the talks, Tapas Pramanik said, “If Trump can sit with Putin, then why can’t India sit with Bangladesh? Besides, Bangladeshi businessmen should find alternative markets in India for jute product exports.”
Earlier, in another notification on June 27, the DGFT had imposed restrictions on the import of several types of products from Bangladesh through land ports. The products that were restricted from importing through land ports included raw jute, jute rolls, jute yarn and special types of fabrics. Four more types of products were added to this from yesterday.
In this regard, India has imposed duty-free restrictions on the import of goods from Bangladesh in several phases in the last few months. Earlier, on May 17, it had imposed restrictions on the import of ready-made garments, processed food, plastics, wooden furniture, yarn and yarn by-products, fruits and fruit-flavored drinks, soft drinks, etc. into India through land ports. Before that, on April 9, the country had withdrawn the facility for exporting Bangladeshi products to various countries of the world using India’s Kolkata airport.
According to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported a total of $1.57 billion worth of goods to India in the fiscal year 2023-24. 3.75 percent of Bangladesh’s total export earnings come from India. On the other hand, Bangladesh imports $9 billion worth of goods from India. A large part of this is industrial raw materials and intermediate goods. Bangladesh is a big market for Indian consumer goods.
