Cargo handling at Ctg port rises to seven-month great as import picks up
Bangladesh's global trade pulled itself from the debris left found in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic aided household consumption, taking the quantity of cargoes handled by the Chattogram interface in October to a seven-month high.
Official data showed that the improvement came within the last several months to October, compensating for a drastic fall when the pandemic was at its peak on Bangladesh.
The import and export trade had started experiencing a decline since January following the coronavirus disease was reported in China, slowing cargo handling by the port.
It somewhat improved in March after Chinese factories and ports opened in late February.
However when the virus pass on through Europe and the US, which are major places of Bangladesh's garment exports, the merchandise shipment crashed down found in March.
The largest blows to trade Bangladesh carries out with countries around the world came in April and May.
But with the reopening of the market, businesses and professional units from June, the two-way trade began growing again, due to evidenced by the cargo handling in the port found in the first four a few months of the fiscal year.
The country's largest seaport handled 91.70 lakh tonnes of bulk and containerised inbound and outbound cargo in October, up from 90.15 lakh tonnes in September.
October's handling volume was the best since April, info from Chattogram Slot Authority showed. In March, a complete of just one 1.02 crore tonnes of import and export cargoes were handled by the interface.
Port users and businesses credit rating the increasing demand for recycleables and commodities to increased organization activities following the reopening of the neighborhood economy and, to some extent, the global overall economy, for the upsurge in the cargo handling.
The transport of import cargoes through the port climbed during the period.
Imports through mass cargoes stood at 67.84 lakh tonnes in October, which may be the highest since April. Imports through containerised cargoes stood at 18.06 lakh tonnes, which may be the highest since February.
Exports are mainly carried out through containerised cargoes, and 5.02 lakh tonnes of goods were shipped abroad in October.
Ninety-two % of the country's import and export cargoes will be transported through the Chattogram port.
Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Sector, said the improved demand in the neighborhood market following resumption of the local business activities contributed to the recovery.
Various industries were shut through the countrywide lockdown. Following the economy reopened, production at the factories jumped as domestic usage rose, he said.
"This resulted in the upsurge in demand for raw materials and commodities, pulling imports," he said.
Alam said the effects of the pandemic has not been severe in Bangladesh and the international trade, mainly imports, began to recover after normalcy returned to China within a brief period.
The country depends on China for recycleables.
The business leader thanked the Chattogram port and the customs authorities for providing round-the-clock service to permit faster release of imports.
Khairul Alam Sujan, a director of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, said in addition to the unfavorable impacts of coronavirus, the cargo transport through the port had decreased from April to June for a few other reasons.
Many importers had didn't take the delivery of the imports on time, creating a considerable container and vessel congestion at the port. This slowed down the cargo throughput through the period, he said.
The situation at the port has improved substantially in the last month or two as arriving vessels were being able to get berth with no delay, he said.
