Birtamod, June 7: Nepal has started direct trade with South Asian country Bangladesh since the financial year 2054-055 BS. The trade deficit between Nepal and Bangladesh have been found increasing. Nepal, which once exported goods worth more than five billion rupees to Bangladesh, is now limited to a few crores.
According to Subas Pandey, Acting Head of Kakarvitta Branch Office of Nepal Transport and Warehousing Company, the trade between Nepal and Bangladesh has been continuously shrinking for the past decade. By the year 2070-071 BS, the import was low and the export was high, but currently the export situation has decreased.
Ganapati Kandel, Information Officer at Mechi Customs Office Kakarvitta, said that till the end of Baisakh of the current fiscal year, the export to Bangladesh was Rs. 23 crore 32 lakh only while Nepal imported goods worth nearly Rs. 3 arba 18 crore.
According to the statistics of the warehousing company, in the last 26 years of bilateral trade, the export from Nepal for the last 10 years is more than the import from Bangladesh. Since the year 2071-072, the export from Nepal continues to fall and the import from Bangladesh have been increasing sharply.
At present, pulses, herbs, molasses, foods, raw materials for animal feed, dyes are the main export items, while jute, soybean husks, medicines, lead-acid batteries, clothes, fruit juices, glass seats, biscuits and chocolates are the most imported goods.
Customs agent Naveen Dahal said that Bangladesh has imposed high customs duty on goods exported from Nepal and very low customs duty rate on goods imported from there. He said that if customs duties can be reduced, Nepali businessmen can export vegetables and other agricultural products which are in high demand in Bangladesh.
There is a lot of potential for export of ginger, cardamom and herbs in Bangladesh. Businessmen say that if the government of Nepal can encourage the export of these goods by providing subsidies, the export will increase.
Customs agent Dahal said that because Bangladesh charges higher customs duty when exporting some of the same goods from India, exports have decreased. He said that if these and other problems can be solved in bilateral trade, exports to Bangladesh can be increased.
From Kakarvitta, the eastern border of Nepal, India passes through Phulbari, West Bengal, and Banglabandh, the northern border of Bangladesh. Sanjiv Kumar, ‘Superintendent’ of Phulbari Customs, says that in the beginning, trade was only between Nepal and Bangladesh through this route, but lately India and Bhutan are also trading with Bangladesh.
Superintendent of Phulbari Customs Kumar said that Bhutan is getting economic benefits by exporting more than 150 tipper stone ballast to Bangladesh on an average daily using the Banglabandh border. “India is also exporting stone ballast and other goods to Bangladesh through this channel,” he said. #nepal #bangladesh #import #export
