Home ›› 25 Aug 2021 ›› Front
Bangladesh’s premier port slipped nine notches in the ranking of the world’s busiest ports as it saw a significant fall in traffic after the coronavirus outbreak.
Chittagong port ranked 67 among the top 100 ports, according to UK-based ‘Lloyd’s List’, a global publication of port and shipping.
The country’s main seaport handled 2,839,977 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2020, down by 8 per cent compared to 2019 when it handled 3,088,187 TEUs. Chittagong port ranked 58 on the list last year.
The ranking of the world’s busiest ports is based on the previous year’s performance. The list was released on Monday night.
“Bangladesh’s principal port reports a significant dip in traffic as the coronavirus outbreak hits its substantial trade of ready-made garments. The box hub Chittagong saw volumes drop back substantially in 2020, as one of numerous ports where business was hit hard at the hands of the coronavirus pandemic,” the report said.
The pandemic has had a major impact on the country’s main export sector, garments. In 2018-19, where about $34 billion worth of garments were exported, during the virus outbreak in 2019-20, goods worth $28 billion were exported, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral M Shahjahan said the overall export-import activities of the country had declined.
The ranking index of Lloyd List is not relevant to port performance,” he said. “The port slipped in the ranking because of declining imports and exports during the pandemic.”
With the current infrastructures, the port is capable of handling around 40 million TEUs, he said.
But according to Lloyd List, despite handling close to 3 million TEUs in 2020, it is fundamentally designed for volumes closer to 2 million TEUs.
Chittagong’s rise as a significant destination for containerised trade has come parallel to the growth of the country’s ready‑made garment industry. Factory production fell when lockdowns to contain the spread of coronavirus came into force in the first half of 2020, the report noted.
“During the first six months of this year, exports were up just shy of 8% on the second half of 2019, according to the Chittagong Port Authority. Yet as trade returns to ‘normal’, it is Chittagong’s age‑old issues of a lack of capacity and creaking infrastructure that continues not only to halt the port’s progress, but Bangladesh’s booming garment trade too,” it said.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said worldwide sales declined from the beginning to mid-2020. Goods were not properly delivered due to congestion at various ports.
But in the last part of FY20-21, garments exports reached $31.5 billion. Exports declined in July, the first month of FY21-22, but gained pace in August, he said.
Lloyd report mentioned that much of the shortfall in trade was subsequently offset by a surge in online purchases. Chattogram’s exports picked up in 2021, in line with the wider recovery of global trade.
Lloyd report also expressed optimism about the under-construction Patenga Container terminal under Chattogram’s third box facility, scheduled to open for business in 2022.
On global shipping trends, Lloyd said, the initial Covid outbreak played havoc with port operations in the early part of 2020, as government restrictions on the movement of goods and people resulted in numerous terminal closures, labour shortages and lower manufacturing outputs. The region managed to gain significant traffic in the second half of 2020.
