Trade resumes at Indo-Bangladesh Petrapole border amid tight security

Trade between India and Bangladesh resumed on Thursday morning amid tight security through the Petrapole land port in West Bengal, officials said. Trade between the two countries had come to a standstill after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh on August 5.

It partially resumed on Wednesday through several land ports in West Bengal but not Petrapole. Bilateral trade through Petrapole is the highest among all land ports shared with Bangladesh. "Trade resumed through Petrapole in the morning. Yesterday, a meeting was held with stakeholders from both countries to resolve the impasse," an official said on condition of anonymity.

Sajedur Rahman, general secretary of the C&F Staff Association of Benapole, which is located on the Bangladesh side of the Petrapole border in West Bengal, had said after a meeting on Wednesday evening that trade was expected to resume on Thursday morning.

Trade resumed partially at land ports such as Hili, Changrabandha, Mahadipur, Phulbari, and Gojadanga on Wednesday. Officials said India has beefed up security along the border in the wake of massive violent protests following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. The Director General of the Border Security Force visited Petrapole on Tuesday to review the situation along the international border.

Bangladesh is India's largest trading partner in South Asia. India's exports to Bangladesh increased from USD 11 billion to USD 12.21 billion in 2023-24. Imports declined from USD 5 billion to USD 1.84 billion in the previous financial year. India exports mainly vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, sugar, confectionery, refined petroleum oil, chemicals, cotton, iron and steel, and vehicles to Bangladesh, while textiles and apparel from Bangladesh come to India. This is 56 percent of their shipments.