India’s engineering exports to Bangladesh nearly double in five years

Indian engineering companies have now gained “acceptance on a global scale” and the exports of their products to Bangladesh have nearly doubled in the last five years, High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla says.

He says India’s global engineering exports stood at $65.23 billion in 2016-2017.

India is exporting transport equipment, capital goods, machinery/equipment and light engineering products such as castings, forgings and fasteners to US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, among others.

“India is one of the most important suppliers of these products to the Bangladesh economy. In the last five years, our engineering exports to Bangladesh have nearly doubled to $2 billion,” he said, speaking at an exhibition in Dhaka on Thursday.

EEPC India with support from the Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and the High Commission of India in Dhaka is organising the 37th edition of its flagship event and its first such event in Bangladesh – the Indian Engineering Exhibition (INDEE Bangladesh 2017) – at the International Convention City Bashundhara, Dhaka from Nov 2 to Nov 4.

INDEE Bangladesh 2017 is also supported by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI), the India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IBCCI), the Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association (BEIOA), and the Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise Manufacturers Association (BEMMA).

Some 100 Indian engineering companies covering a wide of range of products, including auto-parts, medical devices, electrical machinery and components, light engineering, and food processing machinery are taking part in the event.

The high commissioner said India’s engineering exports to Bangladesh are dominated by two and three wheelers, auto components/parts, commercial vehicles, iron and steel, industrial machinery, aluminium products and “serve as critical inputs for the local economy”.

Given its competence and geographical proximity to Bangladesh, the Indian industry is in an ideal position to meet the demand for engineering and engineering products in Bangladesh.

Several top exporters of these goods have invested or are investing in Bangladesh. Prominent examples include Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Reliance, Adani, and Godrej.

In a significant development for India-Bangladesh trade ties, Ashok Leyland with their local partner Ifad Group recently sent 185 commercial vehicles from Chennai under the India Bangladesh Costal Shipping Agreement.

“India is also a committed development partner of Bangladesh, and we have pledged $8 billion in concessional financing to Bangladesh,” the high commissioner said.

The 17 pre-identified projects under the new line of credit will help improve infrastructure in Bangladesh in sectors like ports, power, railways, highways and airports.

“Our companies in the engineering sector can contribute to the infrastructure improvement in Bangladesh by associating themselves with these projects,” Shringla said.