The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were

Lists Bengal exports to Europe as raw products including cotton textiles, silk, indigo, saltpetre, rice and handicrafts — showing Bengal was a major supplier of textile-related goods and other raw/export items.

A student could use this to check whether 'raw cotton' (as distinct from finished textiles) and other agricultural exports from Bengal appear in mid‑18th trade records or port manifests.

States that under colonial rule India became an exporter of raw materials including raw cotton and opium among other items (lists opium explicitly).

Use this general pattern to investigate whether Bengal specifically was a principal source of opium and raw cotton in the mid‑18th century by consulting regional production/auction data or EIC export lists.

Notes that opium shipments from India to China grew rapidly from the 1820s and became a major export in the 19th century, implying opium was an important colonial commodity though its prominence rises later.

Compare mid‑18th Bengal export composition with 19th‑century opium expansion to judge whether opium was already a staple in the mid‑18th or became dominant only later.

Indicates that textile exports from India did not immediately decline after the 1760s and that the Company was keen on expanding textile exports — implying continuity of textile/raw‑cotton related trade in the later 18th century.

Combine this with regional weaving/production centres in Bengal (e.g., Dacca, Kasimbazar) to infer whether Bengal's exports were more finished textiles or raw cotton in the mid‑18th.

Shows a 19th‑century pattern where India exported large values of raw cotton to Britain and the Company aimed to import raw materials for British industry.

Use the 19th‑century pattern as a rule to test if the shift toward exporting raw cotton (rather than cloth) began in or after the mid‑18th century by checking chronological export data for Bengal.