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Eid celebration in Bangladesh, shopping in India

M S Siddiqui
20 Apr 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 20 Apr 2022 00:07:15
Eid celebration in Bangladesh, shopping in India

Since independence, Bangladeshis have been going to India for tourism and medical services. With rapid economic development and an increase of purchasing power, they started shopping in India, Thailand, Singapore, and countries. Bangladeshi women are attracted to the modern apparels of India. Bangladesh market is also full of Indian apparels. Still, shopping in other countries is a fashion and status symbol for the vibrant middle-class.

With the easing of Covid-19-induced restrictions, many Bangladeshis are flocking to India to do their Eid shopping this year.

Easier visa norms and cheaper flight and bus fares have ensured that Dhaka residents and those from many smaller towns having direct bus services to India have accelerated the trend. The cost of garments is also cheaper in India than in Bangladesh due to high import taxes in Bangladesh. The travelers can bring personal luggage without paying tax to the Bangladesh exchequer. They come with a huge list and shop for the entire year before Eid.

Customers from Bangladesh and not from Kolkata keep the Kolkata markets busy and healthy. The entire zone around Kolkata New Market — Marquis Street, Free School Street is dotted with hotels where the Bangladeshi people prefer to stay. Some parts of Kolkata have turned into little Dhaka.

The major shopping spree is seen during the Eid festival. Many Bangladesh families across the border make Kolkata their shopping destination for Eid. It has been estimated that 150,000 shoppers are to travel to Indian cities of Kolkata, Mumbai, and other cities annually. This is the estimation based on a visa issued by the Indian High Commission. IHC had issued an extra 100,000 visas ahead of the Eid in 2019, just ahead of the corona pandemic. India is now issuing multiple visas for five years. Another 100,000 Bangladeshis have such visas to travel to India as and when required. My entire family has such multiple visas for five years.

According to a shopkeeper in Kolkata New market, over 90 per cent of his profits come from Bangladeshi customers. Some traders at Kolkata New Market estimated that, on an average, around 25,000 Bangladeshi buyers visit the New Market every day.

They have established shops nearby in Muslim-dominated areas at Mirza Ghalib Street, Mullickbazar, Belgachhia, New Market, Chitpur, Tollygunge, Entally, Anwar Shah Road, Rajabazar, Park Circus, Metiaburuz, Khidirpur, Park Street, Chitpur's Zakaria Street, Dharmatola's Tipu Sultan mosque premises record brisk sales during the Ramadan month.

Temporary shops have been set up. Traders in other parts of West Bengal also reported buoyant sales. Kolkata's famous Boro Bazar, Sree Leathers, Khadim, and South City malls offer discounts on certain products.

There are border haats. People from both countries can sell and purchase goods of their choice there. Apart from crowding brand shops, many Bangladeshi buyers also purchase shares, three pieces, lehengas, gowns, and cosmetics at retail price.

If the shoppers buy goods worth a minimum of $2,000 each, they will end up spending US$300 crore for shopping, food, lodging, etc. Indian markets are attracting customers from Bangladesh due to quality and price. Bangladesh people are getting India dependent for their shopping day by day. Though the prices of clothes are less in India, if the calculation of expenditure includes staying cost, travel costs, and others, it certainly stays above that of Bangladesh. Besides, there is no scope for changing the items instantly.

On the other hand, garments from India and Pakistan continue to dominate the Bangladeshi apparel market ahead of the peak sales season of Eid-ul-Fitr, thanks to their affordability and attractive designs. But thousands of Bangladeshis still prefer to make round trips to India for Eid shopping.

Nearly 45 per cent of the clothes in Bangladesh markets are from India and Pakistan, and the rest are locally sourced. Usually, women customers enquire about the origin of the goods expecting to hear that they are from abroad and not locally made. Many Bangladeshi garment items are sold with Indian or Pakistani tags for the buyers' satisfaction.

The garments are brought mainly by luggage parties. The luggage party goods are products brought in by international travellers and airline crew in quantities within the duty-free limit, or sometimes beyond those amounts but without any duty. Travellers bring branded cosmetics from different countries, saying they are for personal use or gifts, and later sell them to the retailers. Airline crew takes advantage of the fact that the 20 or so kilograms of luggage they are allowed are rarely screened. Many luggage parties and carriers frequently visit India, Pakistan, Thailand, and other countries. Interestingly, many such luggage parties from Bhutan, Nepal, and India visit Bangabazar to buy low-quality, off-grade, or rejected garments from export-oriented garment industries.

There is another recent trend of online shopping sitting at home. The debate is going on in Bangladesh over the sale of foreign products through online platforms and how to regulate e-shops to pay regular taxes.

Cross-border cattle trade between Bangladesh and India through informal channels is a long-standing debated issue. The economic argument for cattle trade is overruled by the non-economic argument of religious, political, and humanitarian issues.

The informal supply chain between India and Bangladesh for cross-border trading of cattle heads is accounted for about 1.5 million cows every year (20,000 to 30,000 cattle heads daily). This formal and informal trade accelerates during Eid-Ul-Azha.

In 2014, the BJP-led government imposed a ban on cattle export from India, a major source of sacrificial animals for Bangladesh. Indian newspapers reported that the number of cattle illegally smuggled to Bangladesh from India has come down by over 96 per cent by 2019.

According to data from the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Bangladesh, a total of 90.9 lakh cows, buffalos, goats, sheep and other animals were sacrificed in 2021 down about 3.8 percent from 2020. In 2019, 1.06 crore animals were sacrificed on the occasion. The ban was a blessing in disguise.

The ban, coupled with Bangladeshis' improving purchasing power capacity brought on by the stellar economic growth clocked in over the past decade, created a good market for local cows.

The business of cow fattening targeting Eid-ul-Azha became a lucrative venture for small farmers throughout the country. The sale of sacrificial animals through online platforms rose about five times in 2021 compared to last year. It has given an organized cattle market for Eid festival. The rapid industrialization in Bangladesh and the efficiency of large production capacity are creating a demand for Bangladesh products in India.

India will be a future market for RMG, household equipment, and other fast-growing consumer good (FMCG). The export of Bangladesh during the first half of the year 2021-22 crossed US$1b. The informal trade usually followed the formal trade.

Bangladesh will remain an attractive market for Indian goods, particularly women's garments and cosmetics in the future. By this time, about five Indian cosmetics and personal care product companies are in the process of setting up their factories in Bangladesh.

The writer is a legal economist and advisor to Competition Commission of Bangladesh. He can be contacted at [email protected]

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