Home ›› 10 Nov 2021 ›› Front
Apparel goods worth $500 million could not reach the Chattogram port in time for export due to a nationwide transport strike lasting four days, held following the government’s decision to hike fuel oil prices.
At least 1,800 containers of export goods could not make it to their designated vessels during this period, and a large volume of apparel goods is now stuck at factories because of transport shortages, industry insiders told The Business Post.
As a significant number of containers are currently waiting in the Inland Container Depot (ICD) area at the port due to congestion, exporters are worried about missing deadlines for most of their shipment, which in turn could encourage buyers to ask for short shipment discounts.
A short shipment occurs when a shipping container or a portion of the shipment did not get fulfilled or did not get loaded on the intended vessel. Under such circumstances, the exporters might also have to send shipments via air cargo, which is significantly expensive.
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) however said they are trying to resolve the container congestion as soon as possible to curb the possibility of missed shipment deadlines.
On the issue, CPA Secretary Omar Faruque said, “We are ready to ship the products as per schedule, and we are optimistic that every exporter will be able to load their goods onto designated vessels in time.”
‘Apparel goods worth $1b at risk’
Speaking to The Business Post, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association’s (BGMEA) Vice President Shahidullah Azim said, “Apparel goods worth nearly Tk 1 billion is now at risk.
“We have to ship some of these items via air cargo, which is very costly. Some of the buyers will demand discounts from us. Moreover, we might not even manage to export a large volume of apparel goods.”
Industry leaders claimed they export apparel goods worth around $115 million daily, but because of the transport strike that lasted four days, products worth nearly $460 million are now stuck at factories.
Though the cargo transportation services resumed from Monday, exporters are facing another serious problem triggered by transportation shortages – as nearly all the factories are trying to meet their shipment deadlines at the same time.
Khosru Chowdhury, managing director of Nipa Group and a director of BGMEA, said, “I am trying to hire covered-vans, but most of the agents told me that they are fully booked. I eventually managed to get some transportation at a high cost.
“Due to delays, I already have goods worth $2.5 million in stock. If I miss any further deadline, it will incur significant losses to me.”
Industry insiders told The Business Post that they are exporting goods under the freight on board system. Some of the goods have already reached the Chittagong port, but if those fail to reach the buyers within schedule, they might ask for deliveries through air cargo or discounts.
Kazi Iftekhar Hossain, president of Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association, said, “The matter depends entirely on the professional relationship between buyers and exporters. But at this time, the buyers need goods as soon as possible because they do not have enough stock.
“So if we fail to meet the shipping deadline, the buyers will also suffer.”
Nabid Ul Haque, managing director of Mohammadi Group, said, “It is not important the amount of losses we could suffer. What is important is that our image is now at stake because the buyers might lose confidence in us.
“We have to satisfy the buyers even if we incur losses.”
