BGMEA President Faruque Hassan has called for taking steps to expand and facilitate trade between Bangladesh and India. He made the call during a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Delhi on Saturday (16 April). Faruque Hasan requested for steps to be taken to remove the non-tariff barriers between the two countries and to facilitate the import-export process through land ports to save time and cost in trade.
BGMEA informed this in a press release on Sunday (17 April).
During the meeting, possible areas of cooperation to increase trade between Bangladesh and India were discussed. They also discussed the existing problems in the import-export trade, non-tariff barriers, especially the existing problems in the trade of textile products, and possible ways to solve them.
The huge opportunity for trade between the two countries was highlighted by Faruque Hassan to the Indian Foreign Secretary. ‘The two countries can complement each other, especially by increasing trade in garments and textiles,’ he said.
Faruque Hassan said, ‘India is one of our major markets for importing raw materials for the garments industry. We import fibres, yarn, fabrics, chemicals, machinery, dyes, etc.’
The BGMEA President further said, ‘Bangladesh is currently emphasising on manufacturing high-end MMF-based clothing items. India can meet the growing demand of Bangladesh as a major supplier of textiles including man-made fibre.’
India is a promising market for Bangladeshi-made garments due to its geographical location, competitive price, and quality. Therefore, both countries have the opportunity to use each other’s trade facilities, he said.
