Government monitoring trade with Bangladesh: Commerce Secretary

India is monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and taking steps to improve the cross-border trade between the two nations, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday.

Domestic exporters have expressed concerns over the political crisis in Bangladesh and said developments in the neighbouring country would have implications on bilateral trade.

Barthwal said that the situation in Bangladesh is improving fast and “we are monitoring the trade that is happening across the borders, and what we feel is that whatever disruptions were there, they have been largely addressed.”

"We also believe that between India and Bangladesh, there should be improvement in trade. So we feel that whatever best efforts we can make for improving the trade, we should do that, and we are doing that.".

On August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh from Paris to take oath as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled the country following widespread protests against her regime.

India's exports to Bangladesh in July rose by 11.13% to $803.52 million.

During April-July, exports increased by 10.76% to $3.58 billion.

Bangladesh is India's biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of the neighbouring country in Asia.

India's exports to Bangladesh dipped to $11 billion in 2023-24 from $12.21 billion in 2022-23. Imports too declined to $1.84 billion in the last fiscal from $2 billion in 2022–23.

India's main exports include vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, sugar, confectionery, refined petroleum oil, chemicals, cotton, iron, steel and vehicles. The main import items are fish, plastic, leather and apparel, among others.

"We are monitoring things. We want trade relations to be restored. We are watching the situation. It will be premature to say how things will change and happen," he added.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar said that returning to normalcy of trade between India and Bangladesh will not only further give a boost to the overall order bookings but also to the labour-intensive sectors of exports.