Political unrest bites exporters as buyers scrap $30m orders

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Pankaj Dastider CHITTAGONG, October 28: Bangladesh's export sector now faces serious obstacles as orders worth some US$ 30 million placed with dozens of RMG exporters have been cancelled due to political unrest over the last three months. Concerned sources said that 35 garment factories have already lost shipment orders. Cargo handling activities, delivery of imported raw materials and export cargo shipment of readymade garments and frozen foods, the number one and number two export items of the country, have been stalled completely from October 27. Officials of the Chittagong Port Authority said handling of cargo is taking place but total suspension of container delivery from port for lack of transportation may lead to severe congestion during and after the 60-hour hartal called by the 18-party alliance. Inland container depots operators in a letter to their stakeholders have said the situation in the seaport and private off-docks arising out of the recent political stalemate has turned severe and could cause huge container jam of export and import cargo. BGMEA statistics say the political programme like general shut down or hartal alone costs the sector Tk. 2.00 billion in losses a day. Acting first vice president of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) Abdul Wahab said hartal enforced by the opposition BNP and its allies is creating multiple problems for the country's economy. The negative impact of this will also be earning a bad name for Bangladeshi export products across the world. "The problems are multi-faceted. Due to obstacles induced by hartal by callers, we are losing shipment orders of ready made garments (RMG), facing huge discount caused by late shipment, being compelled to arrange air shipment and missing further orders," he told the FE this afternoon. "Around 25 per cent orders for RMG export have been held up now as we have just started to receive good orders from global buyers recently after two months of slow business in terms of volume in the after math of Rana Plaza collapse and fire at Tazreen Fashions," he said. Some 3,224 containers laden with export cargo, mainly readymade garments, have piled up in the ICDs as they could not be transported to the port for shipment while 2,728 containers have been waiting for delivery to different importers since Sunday morning, BICDA office said. In his letter to chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority, BICDA (Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association) president Nurul Quayyum Khan said today that operational activities in the off-docks are being hampered to recent political stalemate. "Violent activities by the opposition party workers have forced suspension of all kinds of cargo handling in the off-docks. Export goods cannot arrive from the factories to the off-docks; nor can we deliver containers laden with export cargo for the feeder vessels waiting in the port," he said. Apart from the import and export related operations, transportation of empty containers between the private off-docks and Chittagong Port also remains suspended which led to huge stockpile of empty containers in the ICDs, he said. The BICDA chief urged all stakeholders including BGMEA, BKMEA, Port, C&F agents, textile mills, shipping agents, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chittagong Custom House to take quick and effective steps towards ending the stalemate through immediate fruitful negotiation with the concerned authorities.