Bangladesh’s exports of apparel to India are rising, thanks to the zero-duty trade benefit and competitive prices, “a development that would help Bangladesh narrow its trade gap with the neighbouring country.”

A report by the Daily Star said that Bangladesh is already a very lucrative source for formal shirts, tops, denim trousers, undergarments, polo shirts, t-shirts and bottoms for both men and women belonging to India's middle-income consumers.

Between July and December period Bangladesh’s apparel export bill to India stood at $365.95 million, a 58.07 per cent jump from the $231.53 million recorded in the corresponding period in the previous year.

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According to the newspaper, of the receipts, $161.69 million came from knitwear shipments, up 66.46 per cent year-on-year. Woven garment shipments surged 52 per cent to $204.26 million at the same time.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has now launched a massive exercise aiming to rebrand itself on the global fora to woo investors.

Earlier, India’s Ambassador to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami said that foreign direct investment from India into the South Asian nation was estimated at over $3 billion. “The investment of Indian companies in Bangladesh is increasing. If you observe, the companies that have already invested in the country, they are reinvesting," he said.  

Underlining that Bangladesh is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia with a volume of $10 billion, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said that the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will further boost commerce between the two neighbours.