How slow is Bangladesh border for exports?

The World Bank has found out that the exporters need around 300 hours to meet the border and documentary compliance requirements in Bangladesh, whereas the time comes down to 60 hours in India and 30 hours in China.

For the similar work, the exporters spend 50 hours in Thailand, 110 hours in Vietnam, 120 hours in Indonesia and 180 hours in Cambodia.

The multilateral lender shared the information in the April 2023 edition of Bangladesh Development Update and said inefficiencies in border processes are increasing the overall trade costs for Bangladesh.

"Border and documentary compliance requirements lead to major delays for exporters."

Moreover, Bangladesh is also lagging behind in implementing the country's commitments under the trade facilitation agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank report said.

The trade facilitation agreement, which entered into force in 2017, contains 37 provisions to expedite the movement, release, and clearance of goods across borders.

When many of the 164 member countries of the WTO are already implementing the agreement in full, Bangladesh has so far implemented about 36 per cent of it, which is much lower than in comparators such as Cambodia, Indonesia, or India, according to the World Bank.