CHATTOGRAM, Sept 5: Maritime trade of the country began with a boom this fiscal despite political turmoil, dollar crisis and global recession.
Exports and imports in July and August saw significant improvement. Satistics show that in August, Chattogram Port handled over 1,14,708 lakh TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) of import containers, up from 1,14,455 TEUs in July.
Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) sources said that exports were hampered in July due to the internet shutdown by the fallen Hasina government. In July, loading of export containers from the depot was halted for several days.
Data shows that export container handling decreased by 9,808 TEU in July compared to in June.
As the situation improved in August, exports picked up.
In August, Chattogram Port handled 78,146 TEUs of export containers , up from 59,854 TEUs in July.
Chattogram port handled 6,5461 TEUs of export containers and 1,05,075 TEUs of import containers in August 2023.
The port handled a total of 59,592 TEUs of export containers and 1,13,485 TEUs of import containers in July 2023, and 7,5391 TEU of export containers and 1,03,755 TEU of import containers in June 2023.
According to data of the CPA, the Chattogram Port handled 63,634 TEUs of export containers in January last; 61,099 TEUs in February; 60,752 TEUs in March; 48,737 TEUs in April; 64,523 TEUs in May; 69,662 TEUs in June; 59,854 Teus in July and 78,146 TEUs in August.
CPA data shos that Chattogram Port handled 1,12,095 TEUs of import containers in January, 1,03,886 TEUs in February, 1,11,487 TEUs in March, 1,17,218 TEUs in April, 1,30,400 TEUs in May, 1,14,591 in June; 1,14,455 TEUs in July and 1,14,708 TEUs in August.
Traders and port officials said the dollar crisis is gradually easing, leading to a slight increase in imports and exports compared to the previous year.
Around 92 per centof the country's imports and exports are handled by the Chattogram Port. About 98 per cent of the country's cargo containers are handled by the Chattogram Port. About 25 per cent of imports and exports are shipped in containers.
Besides, the Chattogram Port handled a total of 31,68,690 TEUs during the financial year of 2023-24, marking a 5.36 per cent growth by 1,61,346 TEUs more than in FY 2022-23. During the same period, cargo handling increased by 18.1 per cent while ship handling dropped, according to latest data. In FY2022-23, container handling by Chattogram Port stood at 30,07,344 TEUs.
Cargo handling increased to 12,32,42,748 tonnes in FY24 by Chattogram Port, up from 11,82,97,643 tonnes in FY23.
That means cargo handling by the port increased by 49,45,105 tonnes in one year, a 4.18 per cent growth.
On the other hand, fewer ships arrived at Chattogram Port. In FY24, 3,971 ships arrived with cargo and container, down from 4,253 in FY23. Port users said that since mid-2022, the country's imports saw a decline, due to the Russia-Ukraine war and dollar crisis, and in 2023, Bangladesh Bank took the policy to control imports.
