Commerce adviser Seikh Bashir Uddin on Thursday dismissed any significant negative impact on the country鈥檚 exports after India withdrew its transshipment facility to the Bangladeshi cargoes reaching third countries through its ports.
He also said he has already talked to the stakeholders in this regard while responding to questions from reporters at his secretariat office.
鈥業 don鈥檛 see there will be any major problem for the exporters,鈥� he said, noting that readymade garments were mainly transshipped to European countries via India for maintaining the lead time.
The commerce adviser鈥檚 comments came after the Indian authority on Wednesday issued a circular withdrawing the facility that had been availed by Bangladeshi businesses since June 29, 2020.
New Delhi, however, clarified that the new measures would not affect Bangladesh鈥檚 exports to Nepal or Bhutan transiting through India.
Bashir said the amount of exports transshipped through Indian ports was 40,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes.
He said Bangladesh is taking necessary measures so that its competiveness in RMG exports remains unhurt.
RMG exporters said the capacity at local airports should be enhanced so that the suspension of the facility by India can be offset.
Earlier, it was reported that Bangladesh, the world鈥檚 second-largest garment producer, had opted to bypass India and ship its textile exports to global markets through the Maldives.
The air freight, through the island nation on the Indian Ocean that is about 2,800km away from Dhaka, would save the exporters almost up to a dollar per kilogram of shipment to European countries.
