The container handling capacity of the country’s largest seaport, Chattogram Port, was continuously increasing with the increase in import-export trade before the Covid-19 pandemic landed the first blow three years ago.
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) somewhat overcame the downtrend after two years but the port is now again facing the same situation caused by the shrink in trade due to the global dollar crisis.
The container handling at the Chattogram Port decreased by 91,711 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) in 2023, according to latest data.
This downtrend is generally credited to importers not being able to open Letters of Credit (LC) at the banks. This has had a causal effect on trading and has affected the container handling of the port.
In 2022, container handling at the port was 31,42,504 TEUs, which decreased to 30,50,793 TEUs in 2023.
CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk told The Business Post, “If import and export decreases, container handling will also decrease. Traders could not open LCs due to the dollar crunch and as a result, imports have decreased. This has implications for container handling as well.”
“Excluding the Covid days, Chattogram port had been setting new records in handling every year. But it was not possible for two consecutive years. Even though container handling has decreased compared to 2022, cargo handling has increased by 5,64,611 tonnes in 2023,” he added.
Although the Chattogram Port saw the highest number of dockings in its history in 2022 with 4,361 ships docked, in the recently concluded year, the number of ships that docked at the port was 4,103.
However, when analysed, the port’s cargo handling data showed that in 2022, some 11,96,65,682 tonnes of cargo was handled at the port bay while the number increased to 12,02,30,293 tonnes in 2023, increasing the amount of cargo handling and decreasing the amount of container handling.
