Dhaka, Aug 31 (bdnews24.com) – The Indian government has decided to provide duty-free access to 61 Bangladeshi, mostly apparel, products into its market.
The BBC said on Wednesday it was told by high officials from both countries that the official announcement for the sanction would come during the Indian prime minister Mohmahan Singh's Dhaka visit. Manmohan is due for a two-day visit on Sep 6 to Dhaka.
Forty-seven of those 61 products are apparel goods. The government is working on finalising eight to 10 protocols, memoranda of understanding and modalities to be signed during the visit, Gowher Rizvi, the prime minister's international affairs adviser, told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.
Export to India nearly doubled as manufacturers exported about Tk 10.77 billion worth of products in Jan-Mar period while it was only Tk 5.48 billion in the same period of the last fiscal, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics. The export jumped further as India allowed duty-free exports of 10 million pieces of RMG products a year from the current calendar year, Mahiuddin said. Earlier, eight million pieces enjoyed duty-free market access.
India has a middleclass population of about 450 million with domestic garment market size of $30 billion, he said. "If Bangladesh can meet 10 percent of the Indian demand it will be $ 3 billion and it will help to reduce the trade gap.
but don't call us for help again if they coloniees you again.
