Barter at the border: India's export curbs and price disparity fuel rising illegal trade at the Bangladesh border
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Barter at the border: India's export curbs and price disparity fuel rising illegal trade at the Bangladesh border

New Indian Express  

Since mid-2022, smuggling of gold in exchange for food items has surged along the India-Bangladesh border, driven by India's export restrictions and a significant price disparity between the two countries. India's Border Security Force actively tries to prevent such illegal activities, searching vehicles for smuggled goods like gold, drugs, and food staples, including sugar and onions. Despite India reducing its gold import duty in July 2024 to its lowest level in a decade, smuggling continues because the trade remains highly profitable due to the significant price differential for food. Furthermore, the illegal trade undermines India's efforts to reduce food inflation and negatively impacts local farmers in both India and Bangladesh.

Food India Trade Illegal Trade Bangladesh Gold Smuggling Price Illegal Sugar Export  border  illegal  fuel  india  indias  price  curbs  smuggling  smuggled  gold  food  bangladesh  sugar  export  trade  rising  disparity

History of this topic

Trade deficit at a record $38bn as gold imports rise
Top News
1 week ago

Trade deficit at a record $38bn as gold imports rise

Hindustan Times  

India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $37.84 billion in November, driven primarily by surging gold imports and falling exports, a trend experts said threatens to add pressure on the rupee which is already strained by three months of portfolio outflows. Imports, however, surged by 27% to $69.95 billion compared to $55.06 billion in November 2023, mainly due to …

Rise in smuggling of gold, cocaine: DRI report
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Rise in smuggling of gold, cocaine: DRI report

Hindustan Times  

India has seen a marked increase in smuggling of cocaine and gold, with borders in the country’s North-East becoming an area of concern and traffickers employing new techniques. On gold smuggling, the DRI report stated that “India has become a major destination for illicit gold imports, with gold and silver predominantly originating from West Asia, including the UAE and Saudi …

Is the spike in India’s trade deficit a worry?
3 months ago

Is the spike in India’s trade deficit a worry?

The Hindu  

The story so far: After a positive start to goods exports in the first quarter of 2024-25, there has been a blip in momentum. On the exports front, 18 of India’s top 30 segments recorded growth in July and 19 in August, but the big-ticket sectors like petroleum, and gems and jewellery, have tanked significantly. While gems and jewellery exports …

Exports slip to 8-month low in July, deficit widens 23.7%
4 months, 1 week ago

Exports slip to 8-month low in July, deficit widens 23.7%

The Hindu  

Breaking a three-month streak of positive growth, India’s goods exports contracted 1.5% in July to $33.98 billion, the lowest in eight months, even as the import bill rose 7.5% to $57.5 billion, widening the trade deficit by a sharp 23.7% in the month to $23.5 billion. Sequentially, exports dropped 3.5% from June, while imports grew 2.3%, leading to an almost …

India gold seizures hit three-year high after import duty increase
2 years ago

India gold seizures hit three-year high after import duty increase

Hindustan Times  

Seizures of smuggled gold in India reached a three-year high this year after the government raised the import duty on the precious metal and international flights resumed following Covid-19 curbs. So-called grey market operators try to avoid the import duties by selling gold at discounts to market prices, which in turn forces competing dealers to lower prices. Customs and other …

Gold smuggling seems to have its own cycle, says Sitharaman
2 years ago

Gold smuggling seems to have its own cycle, says Sitharaman

Hindustan Times  

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said smuggling of gold “seems to have its own cycle” irrespective of high or low customs duty while releasing the latest report on smuggling that showed Myanmar becoming the main transit corridor and China as the origin country for gold smuggling. Can we do lot more data-based, artificial intelligence-based, better mapping of… cycle …

Catching small fry not enough to inspire public confidence in war against drugs: Sitharaman to DRI officers
2 years ago

Catching small fry not enough to inspire public confidence in war against drugs: Sitharaman to DRI officers

The Hindu  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on December 5 urged investigative agencies like the Department of Revenue Intelligence to capture the masterminds behind the proliferating smuggling of drugs like cocaine into the country, stressing that just nabbing mules and peddlers is not enough to engender public confidence in actions against the drug menace. While some detection may be due to ‘actionable intelligence’ …

Gold smuggling in one decade: Kerala ranks third in country
2 years, 4 months ago

Gold smuggling in one decade: Kerala ranks third in country

The Hindu  

Though Kerala has the dubious distinction of being a ‘smugglers’ paradise’ with four international airports in a small geographical area and a large overseas diaspora, the data available with the Centre reveals that the State ranks only third with regard to gold smuggling cases registered in the country in the last 10 years. As per the data available with the …

Exports grow 16.8%; merchandise trade deficit hit fresh high in June
2 years, 5 months ago

Exports grow 16.8%; merchandise trade deficit hit fresh high in June

The Hindu  

India’s merchandise trade deficit hit a fresh high of $25.63 billion in June as imports surged 51% to $63.6 billion, significantly outpacing the 16.8% rise in exports, preliminary trade data show. The value of non-petroleum imports was $42.84 billion in June, reflecting a growth of 36.4%, while non-oil and non-gold, silver and precious metals imports rose 31.7% to $36.7 billion. …

Goods Exports In April Jump 30% YoY To $40 Billion; Trade Deficit Widens To $20.1 Billion
2 years, 7 months ago

Goods Exports In April Jump 30% YoY To $40 Billion; Trade Deficit Widens To $20.1 Billion

News 18  

India’s merchandise exports in April registered a 30 per cent year-on-year jump to USD 40 billion, led by strong outbound shipments of petroleum products, electronic goods, cereals and coffee. “India’s overall exports in April 2022 are estimated to be USD 67.79 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 38.90 per cent over the same period last year. “The merchandise trade deficit …

Air Travel Ban in 2020 Forced Gold Smugglers to Shift Route from Middle East to Myanmar, Says DRI Report
3 years ago

Air Travel Ban in 2020 Forced Gold Smugglers to Shift Route from Middle East to Myanmar, Says DRI Report

News 18  

While the world struggled to adapt to the challenges posed by Covid-19, gold smugglers found new routes to the sneak the precious metal in and out of India during the pandemic in 2020. “The blocking of air routes throughout the lockdown period saw a significant shift in the modus operandi of smugglers from the air routes to the land route …

Air travel banned during pandemic, gold smugglers take land route via Myanmar
3 years ago

Air travel banned during pandemic, gold smugglers take land route via Myanmar

India Today  

The Covid-19 pandemic and the long-drawn lockdown and travel restrictions changed the way gold was smuggled into India. If in the pre-pandemic era air routes and the Middle East nations were the sources of smuggled gold into the country, in the post-pandemic period, the majority of smuggled gold came from Myanmar, India’s neighbouring nation in the northeast, and via the …

India's Gold Imports Surged 471% to a Record 160 Tonnes in March: Report
3 years, 8 months ago

India's Gold Imports Surged 471% to a Record 160 Tonnes in March: Report

News 18  

India’s gold imports in March surged 471% from a year earlier to a record 160 tonnes, a government source told Reuters on Thursday, as a reduction in import taxes and a correction in prices from record highs drew retail buyers and jewellers. Higher imports by the world’s second-biggest bullion consumer could support benchmark gold prices, which have corrected nearly 17% …

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