Tonnes of garments, worth crores of rupees and meant for export to Bangladesh on the eve of Id, are lying in warehouses in and around the city as both countries are on lockdown forced by the coronavirus.

Id, to be held towards the end of May, is the biggest festival in Bangladesh. According to traders in Bangladesh, almost 80 per cent of the

imported garments reach the country between the end of March and the start of May.

Exporters and officials at Calcutta airport’s cargo wing said an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes of garments were ready to be sent to Bangladesh either by air or road but the coronavirus pandemic had made everything uncertain.

Among the garments exported from Calcutta to Bangladesh are saris, kurtas and pyjamas, salwar suits, three-piece lehngas, shirts and trousers, skull caps, dhotis, lungis and children’s garments. Unstitched fabric, too, is exported to Bangladesh.

Importers there sell the items to wholesalers, who then supply them to retail markets across the country.

“This year, exporters from Bengal were getting bigger orders because of the lockdown in China, where the coronavirus outbreak there. But just when export from India started picking up around the last week of March, the country went on a 21-day lockdown,” said P.C. Maity, the chairman of the clearing agents association at Calcutta airport.

He said several exporters who had sent consignments were waiting for payments from Bangladesh.

An exporter who did not want to be named said the demand of garments from Bangladesh was usually so high that several of his colleagues would come together and book cargo flights.“This time, too, we had booked cargo flights for at least four days. All had to be cancelled. Although we could have exported garments, there were no drivers and workers available to take the consignments from warehouses to the airport,” he said.

Another exporter said consignments were stuck on the road.

The exporters procure the garments from local manufacturers and also from other states, including Gujarat and Maharashtra.

“I fear this year there would be almost no business. In Bangladesh the lockdown is till April 11, but we don’t know if it would be extended,” said Md Salauddin of Dhaka who imports about 200 tonnes of garments during Id.

Md Paltu, another importer from Dhaka, said traders would usually import 80 per cent of garments between the end of March and the start of May. “Even after the lockdown is lifted, it would take time for the business to become normal,” he said.