India adds bleached fabric, jute products to land port restrictions
Following restrictions imposed over the past six months on imports of certain Bangladeshi products via land ports, the Indian government has now added more items to the list, including bleached woven fabric of man-made fibre, twine, cordage, rope, and sacks and bags made of jute.
"[These items]...imports from Bangladesh shall not be allowed through any land port on the India–Bangladesh border. However, they will be allowed only through the Nhava Sheva Seaport," stated a notification today issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Previously, India had restricted a large number of items – including garments, textiles, jute, and other products – from entering via land ports amid growing tensions between the two governments following Bangladesh's student-led uprising and the fall of the Hasina-led regime on 5 August last year.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have termed this a non-tariff barrier by the Indian government, warning that it may hinder trade relations between the two nations.
"Due to the Indian government's restrictions over the past few months, along with the earlier anti-dumping duty on jute products, Bangladesh's jute and jute goods exports to India have declined. The new notification will hit the sector hard," said Rashedul Karim Munna, one of the country's jute goods exporters and managing director of Creation Private Limited.
He added, "Kolkata-based businesses are the main buyers of Bangladeshi jute and jute products, as transporting goods there is easier and more cost-effective. If importers are forced to use Mumbai's Nhava Sheva Seaport instead, costs could rise more than sixfold, making Bangladeshi products less competitive."
Abdul Barik Khan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, told TBS, "We have to explore new markets."
Apparel exporters noted that the restricted product list could also affect Bangladesh's potential man-made fibre exports to India.
