Garment units of Bangladesh want to set up warehouses and sales centers in Gujarat. India has responded positively to the investment proposal. This will enable Bangladeshi garment makers to sell and distribute their products directly in India. They see India as a large marketplace with a growing middle class customer base.

A five-member business delegation is set to visit India. During the three-day tour from August 23 to 25, members of the delegation will visit industrial plots and meet the state chief minister. The plan is to set up warehouses in 50 acres of land in Gujarat and to set up a thousand sales centers across India. Since India has permitted well-known brands to do business in its marketplace, Bangladesh’s garment makers feel having warehouses in Gujarat will allow them to provide items of clothing to these brands. Bangladesh wants to enhance its yearly item of clothing exports to the Indian market to a billion dollars in three years from around a100 million dollars now.

India presents duty-free and quota-free market entry for all Bangladeshi products, excluding alcohol and drugs. However, Bangladesh’s garment makers want India’s countervailing duty removed so that they can export more.