The overall handling of container by 18 privately-owned depots dropped significantly in the just-past fiscal year, ending on June 30, mainly due to notable slowdown in export-import activities.
The export containers handled by inland container depots (ICDs) dropped more than 11.2 per cent in fiscal year 2023 to 684,858 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).
On the other hand, import containers handled by the ICDs fell by more than 18 per cent during the period to 220,992 TEUs.
The Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), the apex body of domestic depots, disclosed these figures.
The depots together handled the country's entire export merchandise valued at over 55.6-billion dollars in FY '23.
The depots are allowed to handle import of only 38 items, which constitute an estimated 22 per cent of all imports.
People familiar with the development at the depots told the FE that the reduction was due to the Russia-Ukraine war and import restrictions imposed by the Bangladesh Bank.
BICDA secretary Md Ruhul Amin said the drop was due to the war in Ukraine that began in February 2022, casting multiple impacts on Bangladesh's economy, including dollar market volatility and export order slowdown.
The depots never faced such a situation excepting the Covid-19 period, he maintained.
"We had always positive growth. It may be in single digit and or in double digit. But such a downturn are rare for us," Mr Amin told the FE.
He said the median export size each month was just 57,000 TEUs in FY '23. It was more than 64,000 TEUs on average per month in FY '22.
"We handled more than 65,000 TEUs in July of the last fiscal year, but it started going down from September 2022."
The export handling by the depots in June, the last month of the fiscal year, was very good at 71,600 TEUs, Mr Amin mentioned.
We handled 23,400 import container in July 2022, but the number started declining from August when the central bank raised the margin of letters of credit as part of tightening imports.
It squeezed imports following the fast depletion of the country's foreign-exchange reserves.
The measure the regulator took helped contain imports.
Import dropped to more than 14 per cent during the 11-month period from July to May of the last fiscal year.
jasimharoon@yahoo.com
