Trade Scenario Between Bangladesh and India

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Trade Scenario Between Bangladesh and India

Trade Scenario Between Bangladesh and India

The bilateral Trade Agreement between Bangladesh and India was first signed in 1972 and has been renewed at regular intervals, the latest being 06 June 2015. Bangladesh and India enjoys excellent bilateral trade and economic relations. Being the second largest trading partner of Bangladesh, next to China, and being the members of SAARC, Bangladesh and India cooperate both bilaterally and multilaterally to strengthen commerce and trade. Over the period of last 7 (seven) years, bilateral trade has registered an impressive growth. Total trade between the two countries increased from USD 5.1 billion in fiscal year 2010-2011 to USD 9.5 billion in 2017-18. However, this growth was mainly driven by substantial increase of import of industrial raw materials and consumer goods into Bangladesh from India. India now ranks 2^nd in the list of importing countries of Bangladesh, next to China. Being a SAARC LDC, Bangladesh enjoys duty free and quota free market access for all products except 25 tariff lines (alcohol, tobacco and drugs) to India under SAFTA. This has created immense opportunity for Bangladesh to further enhance trade with India. Despite Bangladesh’s serious efforts, export to India has not increased significantly mainly due to some challenges with regard to product diversification, product standardization, infrastructure at the land port, road and shipping connectivity, Para-tariff and non-tariff barriers, which need proper attention and intervention.

The main items exported from Bangladesh to India are:

Raw jute, Jute goods, Jute yarn & twine, Cane molasses, Engineering products, Furnace oil, Frozen fish, Sacks & bags, Cement, Betel nuts, Knit & woven garments, , Cut flower, Rice bran oil, Copper wire, Agro processed Food , Soap & Toiletries, Jamdani Saree, Mosquito net, Accumulator battery etc.

The main items imported from India into Bangladesh are: Live animals, food stuff, vegetables, spices, mineral products, products of the chemical or allied industries, plastic and articles thereof, textiles & textiles articles, pulp of wood, articles of stone, base metals, vehicles & transport equipment, machineries etc.

Export and Import Statistics Between Bangladesh and India ( Value in milliom US$)

Fiscal Year	Import from India	Export to India	Balance of Trade	Total Trade
2010-2011	4586.80	512.50	-4074.30	5099.30
2011-2012	4743.30	498.42	-4244.88	5241.72
2012-2013	4740.65	563.96	-4176.69	5304.61
2013-2014	6035.48	456.63	-5578.85	6492.11
2014-2015	5827.55	527.16	-5300.39	6354.71
2015-2016	5450.70	689.62	-4761.08	6140.32
2016-2017	6146.25	672.41	-5458.12	6802.94
2017-2018	8619.40	873.27	-7746.13	9492.67
2018-2019	9210.00	1040.00	-8170.00	10,250.00
2019-2020	5793.60	1096.38	-4697.22	6889.98
2020-2021	8593.50	1279.67	-7313.83	9873.17
2021-2022	13,690.00	1991.39	-11,698.6	15,681.39
2022-2023		2129.49

* Source: Export Promotion Bureau& Bangladesh Bank

The export potential of Bangladesh’s current export commodities to India (top ten items)

Hs Code	Export Potential (Million USD)	Actual Exports from Bangladesh (Million USD)	Untapped Potential (Million USD)	Applied tariff by India (%)	India's Import from World (Million USD)	Bangladesh's Export to the World (Million USD)
620342	159.6	75.1	84.5	0.0	101.9	5500.0
620520	82.2	43.5	38.7	0.0	60.7	1800.0
530310	63.3	42.3	21.0	0.0	42.8	132.8
151590	59.2	53.5	5.6	0.0	59.0	54.3
610910	57.9	20.2	37.7	0.0	40.3	5600.0
620462	50.4	21.2	29.2	0.0	44.6	3400.0
630510	39.6	18.7	20.9	0.0	41.6	61.2
531010	38.6	37.5	1.1	0.0	55.9	74.7
530710	37.4	25.0	12.3	0.0	25.1	397.1
530720	35.9	22.9	13.0	0.0	25.8	172.3

Source: Authors’ compilation from ITC Export Potential Map

Top 20 Exported Item in India for the year 2020-2021:

Sl	HS Code and Product Name	Amount In USD
1	15159000: Oth.Fixed Veg.Oil,Fats & Frac.,Nes(Ex.Maize/Castor/Tung/Sesamre/Jojobaoil)	156,755,502.83
2	62034200: Men'S Or Boys' Bib & Brace Trousers, Breeches, Shorts, Of Cotton	76,136,679.24
3	63109000: USED OR NEW RAGS, SCRAP TWINE, CORDAGE, ROPE AND CABLES AND WORN OUT ART..,EXCL. SORTED	52,012,100.25
4	03027990: Other than Eels, EXCL. Wrapped/canned upto 2.5 Kg	39,092,386.08
5	61091000: T-Shirts, Singlets And Other Vests, Of Cotton, Knitted Or Crocheted	36,779,972.13
6	62052000: Men'S Or Boys' Shirts Of Cotton	36,628,614.34
7	53031000: Jute and other textile bast fibres, raw or retted	32,523,009.37
8	72042100: Waste and scrap of stainless steel	32,167,210.03
9	53101000: Unbleached woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast fibre	29,885,696.98
10	53072000: Multiple (folded) of cabled	25,703,889.84
11	62046200: Women'S Or Girls' Trousers, Breeches, Etc, Of Cotton	23,942,181.21
12	42021200: Trunks, Suit-Cases..., Etc, With Outer Surface Of Plastic Or Textiles	22,075,942.07
13	62034900: Men'S Or Boys' Bib&Brace Trousers,Breeches & Shorts Of Other Textiles,Nes	21,737,670.34
14	53071000: Single yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of 53.03	21,584,623.39
15	15079010: Refined Soya-Bean Oil	19,164,439.98
16	64041900: Sports Footwear, With Rubber Or Plastic Soles And Textile Uppers	18,655,598.13
17	22029900: Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters...Excl. Non-alcoholic beer	18,554,131.28
18	63051000: Sacks And Bags, Used For Packing Goods, Of Jute, Etc	18,388,107.44
19	03028999: Other than Hilsha fish (EXCL.wrapped/canned upto 2.5 kg )	18,257,993.39
20	61103000: JERSEYS,PULLOVERS,CARDIGANS,WAISTCOATS.., KNITTED OR CROCHETED OF MAN-MADE FIBRE	17,637,513.08