RMG export thru Ctg halves

CHITTAGONG, Feb 11: Garment exports through Chittagong seaport now hurtled down to half the volume in normal times, sources said. Continued transport blockade almost cut off the country's commercial lifeline.
Industry-insiders said the booking of orders for apparels is not also coming as expected for the political instability.
They said the country's manufacturing and export sector is paying a high price as the ongoing indefinite nationwide blockade, coupled with prolonged general strikes called by a section of political forces, entered its sixth week with no signs of a breakthrough in the political standoff.    
Container delivery from the port has come down sharply as trucks and covered vans charge more than double the normal charges, as they have to take high risks.
Cargo-laden trucks come under arson, petrol-bomb and cocktail attacks during the blockade and shutdowns.    
The yards of Chittagong Port are packed up with containers of import cargo as the delivery of containerised goods has slowed down for lack of adequate freight transport.
Nearly 28,000 TEUs of containers are waiting for delivery in the port sheds against 20,000 to 21,000 TEUs a day on average in December last.
On average 2,000 containers of import cargo are delivered a day but the volume plummeted down to 1400 TEUs currently.
Last week, shipment of export cargos came down to around 1600 TEUs of containers from 2200 TEUs in normal time while the delivery of import goods slummed to 1450 TEUs from 2200 TEUs, said AM Mahbub Chowdhury, vice-president of Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
If the political unrest lingers on, the situation might turn for the worse yet and result in a major blow to the country's garment sector, the main export industry, he said.
Vice-president of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) Shahidullah Azim said readymade garments loaded in about 550 trucks and covered vans on average go to Chittagong Port for shipment from Dhaka and its adjoining areas daily.
But, currently, only 300 to 350 trucks and covered vans with RMG are reaching the port while the rest 30-40 per cent of the exports are shipped by air which costs 12-13 times higher than the sea-freight. The exporters of RMG counted air-shipment cost to the tune of Tk 40.00 to 50.00 billion in the last one month, he said.     
Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) sources said shipment of export goods in the first 10 days of February slummed at least 20% compared to that of January last.
Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) secretary Ruhul Amin Sikder said 41,315 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of container-laden export cargo were shipped through Chittagong port in January while 11,872 TEUs of containerized goods in 10 days of February.
An RMG exporter in Chittagong said some buyers in Europe already had started diverting orders for kids' dresses partially, which were earlier sourced from Bangladesh.
BGMEA director MA Wahab said most buyers abroad are very much worried about the prevailing political atmosphere in Bangladesh. Turkish buyers have expressed concern and they are cutting off orders from Bangladesh.
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