India imposed curbs on imports of ready-made garments and processed food from Bangladesh, amidst the growing rift in relations between the two neighbouring South Asian countries.
Shipments of “all kinds of ready-made garments from Bangladesh shall not be allowed from any land port,” India’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
The statement, issued on Saturday, the decision will be with immediate effect, but did not give any reason for the move.
The restrictions also apply to imports of cotton, fruits, some plastic goods and wooden furniture at certain ports, Bloomberg reported.
The move comes as tension between India and its eastern neighbour increased following the ouster of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power last year.
India has been sheltering Hasina since she fled Dhaka in August and remains non-committal on Bangladesh’s demand for her extradition.
The land port restrictions may further affect the ties between the two nations, as India was Bangladesh’s third-biggest trading partner in 2024.
A strain in the relationship with India is pushing Bangladesh closer to China and other East Asian economies.
The restrictions announced Saturday don’t apply to imports through Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports, and Bangladesh’s exports to Nepal and Bhutan transiting via India.
Imports of fish, liquefied petroleum gas, edible oil, and crushed stone from Bangladesh have also been exempted from the curbs.
Sending goods through land routes to India take three days, while the sea routes will take two weeks, Bangladesh’s Prathom Alo newspaper reported, signalling a hit to the nation’s exports from India’s sudden move.
