& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Exports to India swing down

Kawsar Khan
Although Bangladesh achieved more than 10 percent export growth last fiscal year, the county's shipment to India slipped 22.76 percent, provisional statistics showed.
The country's exports to its giant neighbour shrank at a time when Bangladesh was enjoying a privilege of exporting eight million pieces of readymade garment (RMG) a year to India under South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement.
The RMG export privilege was given to reduce the yawning trade gap between the two countries.
But the garment sector people said Bangladesh could not utilise the duty-free facility for different tariff and non-tariff barriers, which they said need to be removed to make a healthy bilateral trade relationship.
Bangladesh exported goods worth $276 million to India last fiscal year, while its imports were worth S2.8 billion.
The country's shipment to India was worth $358 million in FY2007-08, $289 million in 2006-07, $24 2.2 mil-
lion in 2005-06 and SI43.7 million in FY2004-05, according to official statistics.
"Bangladesh’s trade gap with India increased to $2,566.42 million in 2008-09," said Shahab Ullah, vice chairman of Export Promotion Bureau.
Non-tariff barrier is the main impediment to the country's export to India, he said, adding that separate quality standards of Bangladesh and India also thwart export efforts.
He also said negotiations are going on at both the government and private level to reduce the trade gap.
Garment industry people said exporters got certificates from the government to export 3.5 million pieces of RMG under the duty-free facility last fiscal year, while the real export was much more lower than it should have been against the certificates issued.
M Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said though local apparels cross Indian border without any duty, these products have to pay around 16 percent duty in Indian market, which dis-
courages local manufacturers to exploit the opportunity.
Talking on Indo-Bangla trade, Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber has set a target to increase Bangladesh's export to $1 billion by 2011.
I Ie also said talks are on in a number of areas, including inland container handling and raising Bangladesh's duty-free RMG export quota, to increase export to India.
Though Bangladesh has a wide trade gap with India, some businessmen said it was not something to be worried about since Bangladesh enjoys a huge trade surplus both with the United States and EU, offsetting the deficit.
"Sometimes importing from India is beneficial to us as the country is very near to us compared to Iran or TUrkey," said a businessman.
Bangladesh's overall export stood at $15.56 billion last fiscal year that ended in June, while earnings in FY2007-08 were $14.1 billion. kawsar@thedailystar.net