Bangladesh cement manufacturers are demanding better road links with India to tap its big market for exports. The manufacturers say exports to India have come to a near halt due to poor road links. "We are facing difficulties to export cement to India because of very bad road communication in our country," said AKM. Muhituddin, President of the Bangladesh Cement Traders Association.
Bangladeshi cement traders enjoy price competitiveness in Tripura and other Indian states where local annual demand is estimated at several million tonnes. But cement exports to India total only 100,000tpa, the Financial Express reported on Sunday.
Muhituddin said the repair of the road connecting the two countries and construction of two bridges on it would cost only US$794,000. He said he had lobbied several government officials on the issue.
Azizur Rahman Selim, an association member, said Bangladesh currently had 63 cement factories capable of producing 17.8Mt of cement a year against a domestic requirement of only 7.5Mt. Cement manufacturers said the surplus could fetch millions of dollars by exports to eastern India, Nepal and Bhutan. Exports of cement to India were worth US$571,428 during July-April in the last financial year, up by US$49,206 from the corresponding period in 2003-04.
