Bangladesh's exports to India stood at around $1.53 billion in eight months in the current fiscal year 2022-23, up 12.23 percent over that in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
In July-February of the 2021-22 fiscal, exporters of Bangladesh exported various products worth $1.36 billion to the neighboring country.
Experts said the export earnings to India are increasing due to geographical reasons with a lower cost of production.
Besides, these earnings have increased rapidly as the country is now producing quality products, they said.
If this positive trend continues, Bangladesh's exports to the Indian market will surpass $3 billion for the first time by the end of the current fiscal year, they mentioned.
Government policy makers, economists and business leaders have expressed hope that this positive trend of product exports to India, the world’s second highest populated country, will continue in the coming days.
Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma said that an improved communication system will play an important role in expanding bilateral trade and investment between Bangladesh and India.
He said that the trade between the two countries has increased significantly in the last decade.
However, implementation of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) will see further progress in trade, investment and supply chain arrangements.
The High Commissioner said that the modern road, rail and river communication and infrastructure sector play an important role in reducing the cost of doing business. In this regard, currently 7 'Land Customs Stations' infrastructure development work is going on, and if it is completed, bilateral trade will be easier, he mentioned.
Md Sameer Sattar, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), said that it is possible to increase the trade of the two countries to $20 billion through the necessary development of duty-free communication infrastructure.
He said that the report published by the World Bank in 2021 mentioned that the national income of Bangladesh and India has the potential to increase by 17 percent and 8 percent respectively through the necessary development of communication systems.
“Moreover, the world's fifth largest border area is located between the two countries. Through this, there is a possibility of increasing revenue if business and commercial activities are expanded,” he mentioned.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh’s exports to India stood at $152.03 million in July, $222.45 million in August and $237.52 million in September, $178.15 million in October, $176.71 million in November, $171.66 million in December, $207.36 million in January and $181.52 million in February in current fiscal 2022-23 respectively.
In the fiscal year 2021-2022, India imported goods worth $1.99 billion from Bangladesh. Out of this, $715.41 million came from garment exports.
According to the latest data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), India, as a single country, is now the seventh-largest export market in Bangladesh. In other words, India is now one of the top 10 markets for Bangladesh's export earnings.
Even in the fiscal year 2020-21, India did not have a place in the list of top 10 export markets of Bangladesh. During that time, India was ranked 14th-15th.
The United States, as always, is on top and Bangladesh exported $6.50 billion during July-February in this fiscal.
It was followed by Germany ($3.71 billion), the United Kingdom ($2.43 billion), Spain ($2.43 billion), and France ($2.12 billion) respectively.
