The World Bank has revealed that exporters in Bangladesh are facing significant delays and higher trade costs due to inefficiencies in border processes. Exporters in Bangladesh require approximately 300 hours to meet border and documentary compliance requirements, according Bangladesh Development Update.

The time taken is significantly higher than the 60 hours required in India and 30 hours in China for similar work. Meanwhile, exporters spend 50 hours in Thailand, 110 hours in Vietnam, 120 hours in Indonesia, and 180 hours in Cambodia for the same tasks.

The report emphasizes that the country's failure to implement commitments under the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) trade facilitation agreement is contributing to the delays and higher trade costs.

While many of the WTO's 164 member countries have fully implemented the agreement's 37 provisions to expedite the movement, release, and clearance of goods across borders, Bangladesh has only implemented about 36 percent of them, the World Bank found.

The World Bank's findings suggest that improving border processes and implementing trade facilitation measures in line with international standards could significantly boost Bangladesh's trade competitiveness and lower trade costs for exporters.