Bangladesh’s apparel exporters have identified two major barriers hindering trade with India – the lack of capacity of Petrapole port and non-payment issues of buyers.
“India is a highly potential market. The middle-class population in India is growing fast and their buying power is increasing,” observed Siddiqur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“The lack of capacity in the land customs ports especially at Petrapole in India is a major barrier to trade,” he said, referring to the Benapole-Petrapole border through which 80 per cent of the trade between India and Bangladesh take place.
Speaking at a view-exchange business-to-business meeting with the leading Indian yarn and fabric exporters in Dhaka on July 21, 2018, he also said, “The non-payment issues also stand as a major barrier. The 2012 non-payment case of Liliput Kidswear caused an instant impact in the confidence of our exporters”.
According to him, textile and apparel can be promising sectors that can fortify the trade relations between the two countries further. Among those present in the meeting were Ujwal Lahoti, Chairman of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India, Tseten Nordon Cargyal, Head of Chancery of the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh, Mohammed Nasir, Vice-President (Finance) of BGMEA, and delegates from TEXPROCIL, India.
According to statistics from the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh exported apparel items worth US $ 278 million to India during fiscal 2017-18. In previous fiscal, the export was US $ 129 million; and US $ 136 million before that respectively.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
