First rupee-paid imports arrive at Benapole Port

Trade between Bangladesh and India in rupees formally began with the arrival of 36 pickup vans worth Rs1.23 crore at Benapole Land Port.

On Tuesday, a shipment of 36 pickup cargo vans imported by Nita Company Ltd of Dhaka from Indian exporter Tata Motors Ltd arrived at the port.

"Thirty-six pickups from India in the name of Nita Company entered Benapole Port on Tuesday. These products are imported in Indian rupees," said Benapole Port Acting Director Abdul Jalil.

Abdul Latif, customs affairs secretary of the Benapole Clearing Agents' Association, said, "The new system [trade in rupees] will have some advantages. In the new system, the bank will deduct money once instead of twice. It will take less time. But it will take time to start the entire thing".

"Tata Motors started it on a trial basis on Tuesday. If this system is fully implemented, it is expected that the border trade will improve further," he added.

According to related sources, there is a trade of around $16 billion between Bangladesh and India every year. Out of this, Bangladesh exports products worth around $2 billion. At the same time, Bangladesh imports goods worth around $14 billion. Despite the large import-export gap, it requires a large amount of dollars".
 
To overcome the ongoing dollar crisis in the country, Bangladesh Bank (BB) is constantly providing dollars from foreign currency reserves for urgent imports. Still, the crisis is growing rather than abating. A large number of Bangladeshis visit India for travel, medical and religious purposes. Dollars will be saved if transactions are made in rupees.
 
According to Benapole Port sources, since the independence of Bangladesh, the import and export between Bangladesh and India have been going through US dollars, which is the main medium of global trade.

Bangladesh's bilateral trade with almost all countries of the world is in dollars. After the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the dollar crisis in the country reached its peak. In view of this, it was decided between Bangladesh and India that, along with the dollar, the rupee can now be used in bilateral trade between the two countries.

On 11 July, the transaction in rupees started through the opening of LC at the State Bank of India between two companies for the purpose of export and import. From Bangladesh, Tamim Agro Ltd opened an export LC of over Rs16 million and Nita Company Ltd opened an import LC of around Rs12 million.

According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) sources, Sonali Bank, Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) and State Bank of India (SBI) have been approved to open nostro accounts for transactions in rupees.

Businessmen of both the countries are seeing the trade in rupees as a positive decision. They say, through this, the relationship between the two countries will reach new heights. At the same time, they are talking about the circulation of Bangladeshi currency in India. The central bank says that through this, the cost will come down over time, and dollars will also be saved.

However, goods can also be sent in the old way (in dollars) as well, said Kartik Chakrabarty, secretary of Petrapole Clearing Agent and Staff Welfare Association.

Earlier, on 11 July, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Raof Talukder and Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma jointly inaugurated the trade in rupees at a hotel in Dhaka.