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Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said the trade gap with India widened further in fiscal year 2025-26 compared with the previous fiscal year.
He made the remarks while responding to a supplementary question Thursday from opposition Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker M Abdul Baten of Dhaka-16.
Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India currently stands at around $12.7 billion. Bangladesh exports goods worth nearly $1.89 billion to India, while importing goods worth the remaining amount.
Muktadir said Bangladesh is focusing on expanding its overall export capacity rather than adopting country-specific measures to reduce its large trade gap with India and China.
He said Bangladesh has significant potential to increase exports to India in several sectors, although restrictions imposed by India have created some obstacles. Some barriers have also emerged from the Bangladeshi side over the past two years, he added.
Referring to a recent visit by an Indian trade delegation, the minister said the delegation had proposed forming a joint task force with Bangladeshi traders to develop trade-related infrastructure. Bangladesh has agreed to the proposal, he said.
“We are trying in various ways to enhance our exports to India in the future,” Muktadir told Parliament.
Regarding the trade deficit, he said although the deficit with India is high, private-sector traders continue to import from the country based on their business interests.
Responding to a question about specific measures to reduce the trade gap with India, Muktadir said Bangladesh has large country-specific trade deficits with both India and China.
“However, it is necessary to focus on raising the country’s overall export capacity rather than addressing the issue only on a country-specific basis,” he said.
The minister said the government has identified leather, jute, shipbuilding, light engineering and semiconductors as sectors with significant export potential.
He said initiatives have been taken to enhance export capacity through supportive policies and new investment, while efforts are also underway to develop sectors that have yet to reach their full potential.
