Neighbouring India accepts certificates of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) only on 15 export items while the most other items in the export basket miss the facility.
Traders said the non-tariff barrier was impeding Bangladesh's exports to India and widening the trade gap between the two countries.
In the last fiscal year (FY) Bangladesh exported goods worth only US$ 563 million to India while it imported goods worth over $ 4.8 billion widening the trade gap.
Sources said during the 9th Joint Group of Customs meeting held in Dhaka late last month the Bangladesh side raised the issue with the Indian team.
The Indian officials said they were not unable to accept Bangladeshi goods without necessary tests at their own laboratories because of some legal bindings.
However, Bangladeshi officials have said the Indian testing laboratories are located far away from the border. So export consignments remain stuck on the border under the open sky and in godowns for months before undergoing the tests. This sometimes leads to a fall in the quality of products.
The exporters also need to spend a lot of money to pay the warehouse rents, which push up the export costs and reduce the goods' competitiveness.
Sources said during the meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Working Group on Trade in New Delhi in June last Bangladesh reiterated the request for accepting the BSTI certificates on the other goods also.
They also said the BSTI laboratories were already accredited by the Indian National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for such items.
The Indian side, however, did not respond positively saying that some test parameters mandated by the government of India had not been covered by the NABL accreditation. A copy of the list of parameters was handed over to the Bangladesh side at that time.
They said all food items conforming to international standards were allowed in the Indian market.
Sources said both Bangladesh and Indian sides agreed to expedite finalisation of a bilateral cooperation agreement between the BSTI and the Bureau of Indian Standards.
BSTI Director General Iqramul Haque told the FE Thursday that Bangladesh and Indian authorities needed to sign a memorandum of understating (MoU) in this regard so that both the countries can recognise certificates of their respective testing facilities.
"We are in discussion with the Indian authority on acceptance of BSTI certificates on most of the goods," he said.
BSTI Director Syed Humayun Kabir said the issue remained unsettled for years, though the BSTI was considerably modernised.
He also said most of the countries try to protect their local industries by creating various types of such barriers in the event of imports.
Mr Kabir, however, said technical cooperation between Bangladesh and India increased a lot in the recent times and Bangladesh's exports to New Delhi were rising gradually.
Pran-RFL Group's Director (Marketing) Kamruzzaman Kamal told the FE that in most cases the Indian authority had not recognised BSTI certificates since they set their own standards.
He said on arrival of consignments at the border they send samples to the central food laboratory of India for tests which take 20 to 45 days.
"Alongside paying the test fee, during the period we also pay rent for keeping the goods in godowns. In some cases we need to keep those goods loaded on vehicles, when there is no warehouse facility," he added.
Mr Kamal said such barriers raise costs of goods and also reduces quality.
"Had there been no such obstacles, exports to India could have been increased many times," he added.
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