NEWBIZ REPORT

Kathmandu , August 15

Trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, which had been disrupted for some days due to political unrest in Bangladesh, has resumed. Jiban Bhattarai, a senior officer at Nepal Transit and Warehousing Co. Ltd., informed New Business Age that trade activities (both import and export) were halted on August 4 due to violent protests but fully resumed by August 6.

The protests had caused a backlog of vehicles and containers at various checkpoints, all of which have now been cleared. "If the demands of the protesters are addressed by the interim government in Bangladesh, there should be no immediate obstacles," Bhattarai stated.

During the unrest, six Bangladeshi vehicles bound for Nepal were held at the Banglabandh checkpoint, while eleven vehicles from Nepal, loaded with sugarcane molasses, were stopped at the Mechi Customs Office in Kakarvitta.

The interruption impacted businesses involved in import and export, with stranded containers at checkpoints and customs leading to 'detention charges' of up to NPR 4,000 daily. Nepal exports goods worth approximately NPR 500 million annually to Bangladesh, while importing goods worth around NPR 4 billion.

In the fiscal year 2023/24, Nepal exported goods worth NPR 463.1 million and imported goods worth NPR 3.83 billion from Bangladesh. Key imports from Bangladesh include batteries, food items, and medicines, while Nepal exports herbs, chyawanprash, red lentils, legumes, molasses, raw materials for animal feed, and dyeing materials.

Since the onset of the protests, the Banglabandh crossing in Bangladesh, which also handles trade with India and Bhutan, has been inconsistently opening and closing.