Hili Land Port Resumes Bangladesh-India Import-Export After Six-Day Halt

🚢 Dinajpur, Bangladesh — Import-export activities between Bangladesh and India through Hili land port in Dinajpur resumed on 6 September 2026 after remaining suspended for six days due to an indefinite strike by Indian traders.

📞 Md Anwar Hossain, Deputy Director of the Customs Preventive Department at Hili land port, confirmed the resumption of activities to BSS around 4:30pm yesterday. The activities resumed after Indian traders withdrew their indefinite strike at noon following assurances from the Indian government and administration.

🤝 With the reopening of the port, business activities have returned to normal, bringing renewed bustle among traders, customs officials, transport workers and others associated with the port.

💬 C&F Agents: Hili Lagging Behind Other West Bengal Ports

💬 Md Shahinur Islam Mondal, General Secretary of the Hili Customs C&F Agents Association, said many traders at Hili in India had been suffering financial losses as the port was lagging behind other land ports in West Bengal in terms of commercial competition.

📊 He said a section of the traders had decided to suspend import-export activities indefinitely over the issue, resulting in a complete halt to the movement of goods between the two countries through Hili land port for the past six days.

🚢 Five Trucks Enter Bangladesh on Resumption Day

🚚 By 4:30pm, five trucks carrying imported Indian goods had entered Bangladesh through the port. After the resumption of trade, Bangladeshi cargo trucks also started entering India, while trucks carrying various goods from India began entering Bangladesh. Arrangements were made for the immediate unloading of imported goods, and cleared consignments were transported to different parts of Bangladesh by local trucks, port authorities said.

👥 Meanwhile, SI Md Zakaria, Officer-in-Charge of Hili Immigration Checkpost, said the movement of passport-holding passengers between the two countries had remained normal despite the suspension of import-export activities. He said passenger movement through the immigration checkpost was continuing smoothly.

🌏 Strategic Context: Bangladesh-India Land Port Trade

🚢 Hili is one of the major land ports along the Bangladesh-India border, handling a significant share of bilateral trade between the two neighbours. The six-day suspension would have disrupted supply chains for various goods — particularly agricultural commodities, raw materials and consumer goods that move regularly between the two countries.

📊 For Bangladesh’s importers, the disruption affected several categories:

• 🌾 Agricultural products — onions, garlic, ginger and other commodities from India
• 🛠 Industrial raw materials — cotton, yarn and chemicals for textile and garment factories
• 📋 Consumer goods — packaged food, spices and household items
• 🚢 Machinery parts — capital goods and equipment imports

📊 For Bangladeshi exporters, the suspension affected shipments of goods such as jute products, garments, ceramic items and processed food that move through Hili to Indian markets.

🤝 Bangladesh-India Trade Corridor Resilience

🚢 The Hili port strike highlights both the importance and vulnerability of Bangladesh’s land-based trade with India. While land ports offer faster turnaround than sea routes for many goods, they are also exposed to localised disruptions — from strikes and political protests to regulatory changes on either side of the border.

📊 For Bangladeshi traders, the rapid resumption — within six days — underscores the resilience of the bilateral trade mechanism. The Indian government’s swift engagement with the striking traders reflects recognition that bilateral trade flows must be maintained, even when local grievances arise.

🌏 For policymakers, the episode offers several lessons:

• 📋 Diversification of ports — reducing reliance on any single land port for critical imports
• 💰 Buffer stocks — maintaining strategic reserves of essential commodities to absorb disruption
• 🤝 Bilateral consultation — strengthening institutional mechanisms for early warning and dispute resolution
• 📊 Digital trade facilitation — accelerating paperless clearance to reduce dwell time

✅ For Bangladesh’s broader trade strategy, the Hili resumption is positive news — coming at a time when the country is actively diversifying its trade relationships, pursuing FTA negotiations with the EU, and preparing for LDC graduation. Maintaining stable land-based trade with India — the country’s second-largest trading partner — remains a strategic priority for both sides.

🚢 As the port returns to full operation, traders on both sides will be looking to clear the backlog of consignments that accumulated during the six-day halt. The coming weeks will reveal how quickly normal trade volumes resume — and whether Indian traders’ concerns about commercial competitiveness have been adequately addressed by the assurances from the Indian government.