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India decided to allow entry of ready-made garments from Bangladesh only through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva sea ports and barred imports of a range of consumer items via land transit posts in the northeast. It is a move that is likely to hit the trade of Dhaka with India.

Besides the ready-made garments (RMG), plastics, wooden furniture, carbonated drinks, processed food items, fruit flavoured drinks, cotton and cotton yard waste will not be allowed to enter India through land customs stations and checkposts in Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Mizoram, and Phulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal, according to a government notification.

The new restrictions are coming five weeks after Delhi ended a nearly five-year-old arrangement for trans-shipment of Bangladeshi export cargo to third countries via Indian airports and ports. The new restrictions announced have been imposed with immediate effect.

The fresh restriction on limiting access to Bangladeshi exports appears to be in response to Dhaka denying certain value-added items from the Northeast to enter that country through the land transit points.

The recent friction in trade ties between the two countries came amid increasing strain in the overall relations after deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest.

Now, the ready-made garments and certain other Bangladeshi items will only be allowed access via Kolkata and Nhava-Sheva sea ports. The notification on restrictions on Bangladeshi imports has been issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade.

Bangladesh is a major global exporter of readymade garments, and the value of its exports in the sector was estimated at US 38 billion in 2023. Its annual RMG exports to India is estimated at around USD 700 million and 93 per cent of the RMG shipments enter India through land ports. There are 11 land transit points in northeast for trade between India and Bangladesh. Out of them, three are in Assam, two in Meghalaya, and six in Tripura.

Earlier, India permitted the export of Bangladesh goods through all land trading points and seaports without undue restrictions. However, Bangladesh continued to impose the port restrictions on Indian exports at Land Customs Stations (LCS) and Integrated Check Posts (ICP) bordering northeastern region, people familiar with the matter said.

(With inputs from PTI.)