India has supplied nearly 47 lakh litres (4,000 metric tonnes) of diesel to Bangladesh through the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) to meet rising fuel demand across the country.
The fuel arrived at the Parbatipur Receiving Terminal Depot in Dinajpur as part of the pipeline’s 72nd consignment, reports NDTV.
Dinajpur Parbatipur Rail Depot Operation Manager Md Robiul Alam told the media that the pipeline transfer commenced at 9am on 13 September and concluded on 15 September. The latest shipment was dispatched after India received a formal request from Dhaka in August seeking additional petroleum supplies.
The delivery aligns with a landmark 2018 bilateral agreement under which Bangladesh agreed to import approximately two million tonnes of diesel over a 15-year period. Since the pipeline was inaugurated in March 2023, Bangladesh has imported a total of 330,087 tonnes of diesel through the network.
The IBFP represents the first cross-border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh, as well as India’s second cross-border energy pipeline with neighbouring states. Designed with a capacity to transport 1 million metric ton per annum (MMTPA) of High-Speed Diesel (HSD), cooperation in the power and energy sector has established itself as a hallmark of bilateral ties.
Supplier Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been delivering petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015.
The pipeline link has proven critical during supply challenges, including in March this year when Bangladesh imported 17,000 metric tonnes of diesel amid Middle East tensions. Monthly figures record that Bangladesh bought 17,000 tonnes in March, 25,000 tonnes in April, 8,000 tonnes in May, and 8,000 tonnes of refined diesel in July.
India exports 500 tonnes of hilsa in trade reversal
In a parallel trade development, India has exported around 500 tonnes of hilsa to Bangladesh over the past two months, marking a historic reversal of the traditional trade flow for the prized fish.
An additional 150 to 200 tonnes are expected to be exported in the coming weeks following reports of lower hilsa production in Bangladesh this year, which prompted local fish traders to turn to India to meet domestic demand.
The fish consignments have been sourced primarily from Gujarat and shipped through Bharuch port, while additional supplies have been routed through the Howrah wholesale fish market in West Bengal.
Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of the Howrah Wholesale Fish Importers’ Association, noted that this marks the first time Bangladesh has imported hilsa from India, as traditional Indian exports usually consist of species such as boal, rohu, parse, and tangra.
Gujarat hilsa contains a high egg (roe) content, which experiences relatively limited demand in Indian markets but is highly prized by Bangladeshi buyers, particularly in Chattogram and Sylhet.
Bangladeshi merchants are selling the roe separately for processing and re-exporting to international markets, while also drying the fish for domestic sale as salted hilsa or processing it for overseas export.
Although Bangladesh is traditionally one of the world’s largest hilsa-producing nations, where the fish forms an integral part of Bengali culinary and cultural traditions, traders have drawn on Indian supplies this season.
India traditionally receives hilsa shipments from Bangladesh ahead of Durga Puja – with Dhaka sanctioning 1,200 tonnes last year – though there is currently no clarity regarding Padma river hilsa exports to India for the upcoming festive season.
