Bangladesh will urge India to withdraw a quota on apparel exports to narrow the trade gap between the two countries.

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan will lead a delegation to India on October 20 to discuss business issues, including waiver of duty on RMG exports to India.

The issues such as border haat and withdrawal of a ban on raw cotton exports out of India will also be on the agenda, the minister said.

During her visit to India in January, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed a broader duty-free entry for Bangladeshi RMG products to the next-door neighbour.

Bangladesh enjoys duty-free facility in exporting eight million pieces of garment to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. The agreement with India was signed in September 2008.

A commerce ministry official said Bangladesh has been asking India either to give 61 products duty-free access or a complete duty waiver to all RMG products.

“This year almost 70 percent of the eight million pieces quota has been finished and the rest is expected to be exhausted by year-end," the commerce ministry official said.

Also, Bangladesh is pressing India to remove non-tariff barriers such as hidden taxes on apparel.