DHAKA: Speakers on Saturday put emphasis on taking political decisions to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) between Bangladesh and India to enhance trade potentials.
They also talked about institutional capacity building.
The observations emerged from a dialogue on “Non-Tariff Barriers in Bangladesh-India Trade: Addressing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Concerns,” organised by CPD at BRAC Inn Auditorium on Saturday.
International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) president Mahbubur Rahman chaired the discussion following introductory remarks from CPD executive director Professor Mustafizur Rahman.
While presenting the keynote, CPD senior research associate Khaleda Akhter said that exporters felt that certification and testing related requirements in the Indian market for agricultural and food products create problems for exporters.
The study findings indicated that the attendant concerns include harmonization of food standards, mutual recognition of conformity assessment, dispute settlement and technical cooperation with transparency etc, according to a CPD perception survey conducted at major India-Bangladesh land ports.
Mahbubur Rahman said India exported products worth about US $6 billion in the 2013-14 FY whereas Bangladesh exported products worth about $500 million.
He also said the two countries need to sit and discuss about how to reduce the gulf; equal opportunity is the burning question than the amount of export.
Professor Rahman observed that exporters need to be aware of the drawbacks, organisations like BSTI and the Agreement on the Establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO) will need to undergo institutional capacity building and going for an SPS agreement within the context of SAFTA to increase exports to India.
Pran Group general manager (export) M Tanveer Islam underscored a number of on-the-spot concerns for Bangladeshi exporters, who need await Central Food Laboratory (CFL) approval to disburse their exportable goods.
Specific packaging requirements for India is another hindrance, he said, noting that all food samples need to be sent to Calcutta which is around 400-500 kilometers away as Central Food Laboratory (CFL) facilities are not available near all land ports.
On behalf of CUTS, Calcutta Resource Centre that conducted the Indian counterpart of the study, Prithviraj Nath, Policy Analyst and Head, said that the major challenge is the capacity issues and that customs are not trade-aware regarding certification standards.
He recommended capacity building measures for major stakeholders including staff at SARSO.
SANEM executive director Dr Selim Raihan mentioned that Bangladesh export to India has declined despite reduced tariffs and DF-QF facilities to Bangladesh. As many of these issues are related to trade facilitation, increasing the producers’ capacity to meet compliance and standards and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries should improve the condition.
Chief Guest Mr Amitava Chakraborty, Director General (WTO Cell), Ministry of Commerce observed that Bangladesh’s export to India is not expanding significantly and this is mainly due to the lack of capacity building of the exporters.
The second impediment is absence of institutional strengthening and the third – lack of product diversification for the export destinations, he added.
He also underscored that Bangladesh needs to particularly go for institutional capacity building because India is a very important trade partner and trade enhancement is essential for Bangladesh to achieve a middle-income status as envisaged in ‘Vision 2020’.
Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) director (program, research and policy advocacy) Dr Mostafa Abid Khan agreed that a bilateral agreement would not be a viable solution because problems arise from outdated regulations in the trade policies, implementation of import policies in Bangladesh and Countervailing duties (CVDs) which are trade import duties imposed under WTO rules to neutralize the negative effects of subsidies.
Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) former chief executive officer Dr Mohammad Mozibur Rahman opined that there is no universal standard for food and agro trade items. The problems may continue to exist without a mutually agreeable standard and the persistent trade-related complications at the border.
In this regard, Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) deputy director Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman said that any certification issued by the BAB should be accepted in all countries.
In reality, the Indian customs is not accepting other accredited laboratory certificates other than from India. The governments should settle these issues, he added.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) BUILD Project CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum said that some time-bound action plans have been taken regarding quarantine and phytosanitary certification issues at a recent meeting of BUILD with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Among other recommendations, Zillul Hye Razi, Trade Advisor, European Union Delegation to Bangladesh suggested for efficient administrative system to maintain the hygiene and quality of perishable agro goods for export.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) should educate the exporters regarding certification and compliance issues, opined Jahangir Bin Alam, secretary and CEO, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI).
MCCI former president M Anis Ud Dowla urged the government to take required measures to improve the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) which must not be reliant on any assistance from the Indian government.
BEF and MCCI secretary general Farooq Ahmed said that the macro issues such as certification, laboratory issues has remained the same for decades but some micro issues have improved. He, however, felt that policy recommendations have very little impact on the ground-level realities.
DCCI acting president and senior vice-president Humayun Rashid said that DCCI is involved in changing conflicting policies and looks forward to positive developments.
At the floor discussion, Dr Syed Humayun Kabir, Director General, South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO); Suhel Ahmed Choudhury, Former Commerce Secretary; Golam Mohammad Sarwar, Assistant Director (Agriculture & Food), Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), among others, addressed the program.
BDST: 2052 HRS, APR 18, 2015
SR/RR/SMS
