Trade continues between Tripura and Bangladesh, but volume drops amid turmoil

Despite the recent turmoil in Bangladesh, trade with Tripura and other northeastern Indian states continues, albeit at a reduced volume. The situation escalated on Monday when Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, leading to the Army taking control of the administration. As a result, trade has slowed down at key trading points including Dawki (Meghalaya)-Tamabil (Bangladesh) and Sutarkandi (Assam)-Sheola (Bangladesh).

The northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Assam share a combined 1,880 km border with Bangladesh. A senior official, who requested anonymity, stated that, “Some goods laden trucks moved between Tripura and Bangladesh through the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Srimantapur (India)-Bibir Bazar (Bangladesh) trading points. Normally these trade points witnessed movement of 300 to 400 trucks.”

Officials remain hopeful that trade activities will return to normal soon. According to an official from Tripura's Industry and Commerce Department, commerce between Tripura and Bangladesh has significantly increased from Rs 230.24 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 715.98 crore in 2023-24.


In the financial year 2023-24, exports from Tripura to Bangladesh were valued at Rs 12.31 crore, while imports stood at Rs 703.67 crore. Bangladesh exports various commodities to Tripura and other northeastern states, including fish, cement, food items, steel sheets, PVC pipes, soft drinks, and cotton waste. On the other hand, it imports broken stone, maize, agarbatti, fresh ginger, dry chillies, vegetable seeds, and wood apple from the region.

Due to the volatile situation and incidents of violence in Bangladesh, a high alert has been issued in areas bordering the neighboring country.

Officials are closely monitoring the situation and expect normalcy in trade activities shortly.