, Dec. 9 -- A deepening bottleneck at the Benapole-Petrapole trade gateway has stranded about 150 export-bound trucks loaded with betel nuts worth an estimated Tk 100 crore, exposing Bangladesh's second-largest betel-nut industry to mounting financial risk as delays stretch into a second month.

Exporters say the logjam is burning through roughly Tk 3 lakh a day in penalties and truck rental charges, with each vehicle costing around Tk 2,000 daily as it sits immobilised near the border.

The slowdown, they said, originates on the Indian side at Petrapole, where officials are allegedly dragging out quality assessments and introducing what traders describe as artificial barriers.

The friction threatens a trade segment that has expanded sha...