Jumbangla Desk: Bangladesh has stopped the export of garments made from Indian airports and seaports. Instead, garment products are now reaching the world through the Maldives. Due to this decision of Bangladesh, India's navy and airport are losing huge revenue, said Indian officials concerned.

In a report on Saturday, Indian media Livemint reported this information.

Deepak Tiwari, Director General of MSC Agency (India) Pvt Ltd told Livemint, “Earlier Bangladeshi products were transported through Indian airports. But now they are transporting their goods through other routes. Which means India is not getting the revenue it used to get from the cargo of these products. MSC Agency (India) is one of the largest cargo transport companies in India.

Officials of the country said that Bangladesh is now shipping ready-made garment products to the Maldives first. From there, the products are being airlifted to global destinations. This includes clothing from world famous companies like H&M and Zara. Bangladesh is the world's second largest exporter of ready-made garments.

Which means Dhaka used to export billions of dollars worth of goods to the world through India. If Bangladesh exports goods through other countries instead of India, trade relations between Bangladesh and India may weaken. Apart from this, the concerned officials expressed apprehension that the cooperative opportunities in logistics and structural projects may be jeopardized.
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An official said, “The Government of India is looking for an amicable solution to such a decision by Bangladesh. Which will ensure the export of Bangladeshi garment products in huge quantities through India and protect India's interests.”

Another official said, “A large part of these readymade garments exported by Bangladesh are manufactured in Indian infrastructure or factories. Which are operated by Indian companies located in Bangladesh. This matter is under the notice of the Government (of India). We are now trying to gauge how it might impact India.”

However, an industry expert Arun Kumar said, he does not think that Bangladesh has taken such a decision out of any anger or resentment towards India. He believes that Bangladesh has taken such a decision mainly because of control over its own supply chain and not exporting goods on time through Indian ports.

This expert said, “Bangladesh is getting a strategic advantage through the new export route, along with assured reliability, which is very important in the tight deadlines of the international apparel market. In addition, Bangladesh is imposing more control over its supply chain by reducing its dependence on Indian ports."

Arun Kumar also said that garment products are considered as perishable products. Because the order is canceled if the shipment is not delivered within the specified time. Garment products are products that lose value after a certain season.

However, the executive member of the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India claimed to the media Livemint that even if the export of Bangladesh-made garments through India is stopped, they will not suffer much. He claims that Indian ports are already very busy. For this reason, they had already requested the Indian government to stop the export of Bangladeshi products through their ports.

He said, "This is not a big deal. Indian airports are already very busy. We have requested the government to impose restrictions on the export of Bangladeshi products through Indian airports.”

Another official said that the ban on the export of manufactured garments through India has nothing to do with the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government and giving her shelter. He said, “Indian government does not think that Bangladesh is doing this because of sheltering Sheikh Hasina. Textile is the backbone of Bangladesh. Which means they have decided to increase export of textile products.”

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