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Our Bureau

Kolkata, Nov. 1

Bangladesh is not in a position to export any gas to India as its total gas reserve is not known, Md. Syed Masud Mahmood Khundoker, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh, said here on Friday.

Addressing an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce, Mr Khundoker said, “Unless an assessment is done on how much gas reserve we have, we cannot possibly export gas to India”.

Bangladesh currently produces 1,750 million cubic feet of gas a day (mmcfd) and faces a shortage of nearly 200 mmcfd in its daily domestic consumption.

On the mounting trade imbalance between the two countries, he said the exports from Bangladesh could increase if India removed a number of non-tariff barriers. “We can export higher volumes of hilsa fish and Jamdani sarees if the Indian market was made more open for Bangladeshi products,” he added.

The infrastructure of Indian land Customs stations, for example, could be improved, he pointed out, adding, “While we have 12 land Customs stations of which five are of international standards, the Indian land Customs stations need to be developed considerably”.

India should also develop more warehouses to preserve perishable goods imported from Bangladesh, Mr Khundoker said. The Bangladeshi television channels should also be allowed transmission in India, he added.

The Border Trade sub-committee, a joint working committee on trade facilitation and land customs issues will hold its sixth meeting in New Delhi next month, he said. With regard to the meeting held between the two nations after 28 years in September on demarcation of maritime border, Mr Khundoker said, “The meeting had been very fruitful and both parties have agreed that the demarcations should be done”. The demarcation process will, however, need time and more advanced technology, he added.

On the controversy over allocation of offshore territories between the two nations, he, however, said, “All our allocated blocks are definitely within the Bangladesh territory”.

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