New Delhi: India on Saturday imposed port restrictions on the import of specified products from Bangladesh, including readymade garments (RMG) and processed food items.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce, issued the order which states that the curbs will apply to specific categories of goods, but won’t affect Bangladeshi shipments transiting through India to Nepal and Bhutan.
Imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh will now only be allowed through Nhava Sheva (in Navi Mumbai) and Kolkata seaports, and banned from all land ports.
Imports of goods such as fruits, carbonated and fruit-flavoured beverages, processed food items like snacks and baked goods, plastic and PVC finished goods, cotton and cotton yarn waste, dyes, plasticisers, granules, and wooden furniture will not be allowed through 11 land customs stations (LCSs) and integrated check posts (ICPs) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and at Changrabandha and Fulbari in West Bengal.
There are no restrictions on the import of fish, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), edible oil and crushed stone.
Bangladesh’s annual readymade garments exports to India are worth around $700 million, of which 93% used to be exported through land ports.
Hence, India’s latest step is expected to have a significant impact on Bangladesh.
In April, India withdrew a trans-shipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to export goods to different parts of the world — excluding Nepal and Bhutan — via Indian ports and airports.
That move followed controversial remarks by Bangladesh’s interim government chief Muhammad Yunus during his visit to China.
Yunus had referred to India’s northeastern states as “landlocked” and claimed Bangladesh was the “only guardian” of the Indian Ocean in the region. He also asked China to use Bangladeshi territory for trade access, which evoked strong reactions from Indian political leaders.
