The Crime Desk: India has banned the import of several jute products and woven fabrics from Bangladesh through land ports. These products will now be able to enter India only through the Navseva seaport in Maharashtra. New Delhi took this step on Friday amid the ongoing tension in trade relations between the two countries. India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a new order on this ban yesterday. The list of products facing the ban includes various types of woven fabrics, as well as raw jute fiber and jute yarn (canaf, hemp, ramie, etc.).
DGFT says that this ban will not apply to products going to Nepal and Bhutan via India. However, these products cannot be exported from Bangladesh to India via Nepal or Bhutan.
Bangladesh is one of the largest exporters of jute and jute fiber and yarn in the world, and India is the major destination for these products. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Bangladesh exported $93.6 million worth of jute and other textile fibers to India in 2023. Of this, jute yarn exports were worth $61.8 million.
This is the third such ban on Bangladeshi products in the past few months by New Delhi. Earlier, on May 17, India imposed similar port controls on imports of ready-made garments and processed food products from Bangladesh. Earlier, on April 9, transshipment facilities granted to Bangladesh for exports to the Middle East and Europe were canceled. This facility remains in place only for Nepal and Bhutan.
According to the Times of India, tensions between the two countries have recently increased over allegations of persecution of religious minorities, especially Hindus. According to PTI, the matter was also discussed in a meeting of an Indian parliamentary committee on Friday. The meeting also raised the issue of Bangladesh’s growing ‘closeness’ with China and Pakistan.
The Times of India, highlighting Bangladesh as India’s ‘important competitor’ in the textile sector, says that in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the trade volume between the two countries was $12.9 billion. Of this, India’s exports were $11.46 billion; imports were about $2 billion.
