Country's apparel exporters have turned down the Chittagong Port Authority's proposal to release the goods imported by them from the private inland container depots (ICDs), termed as off-docks.
They accused the private ICD operators of charging higher fees and taking more time than the CPA for releasing the goods. However, the ICD operators dismissed the allegations.
It takes six to seven days to get the consignments released from the off-docks as compared to only two days at the port, apparel exporters said.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) recently requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to allow releasing the goods from the Chittagong port.
The trade body president, Rubana Huq, made the request in a letter to the NBR, following a recent proposal by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) to the revenue board for allowing release of all imported goods from the private ICDs.
The private ICD operators dismissed the allegation about the delays and claimed that they are more efficient than the Chittagong port. They, however, admitted that their charges are a little higher than the port.
Currently, the private ICDs are barred from handling the imported goods of the apparel sector. However, the off-docks were allowed to deliver all goods, including those belonging to the apparel exporters, from April 24 to June 14 last year to ease the then congestion in the port.
In the letter, Ms Huq said the apparel exporters would lose competitiveness if the NBR accepts the CPA proposal.
On December 1 last, the CPA recommended increasing the number of items to be released from the off-docks and gradually bringing all imported items under the scheme to reduce the container congestion at the Chittagong port.
Disproving the allegation of delays, the private ICD operators, however, acknowledged that the cost would be a bit higher as they have to bear the carrying cost of the import goods from port to the off-docks.
"The importers have to pay Tk 4,140 for taking delivery of a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of container from the port while it is Tk 7,300 in the case of the private ICDs," said Mohammad Rahul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA).
Mr. Sikder, general manager of Esack Brothers Industries Limited, said that as per the Time Release Study (TRS) conducted by the World Bank (WB), the release of goods took 11 days on an average in 2017-18 at the Chittagong port.
"If the time even came down to nine days in 2019, it is still higher than that of the off-docks as it takes only four days here," he said, adding the private operators usually try to provide speedy services to stay competitive.
BICDA president Nurul Qayyum Khan said there is a misconception about these issues as the government has offered the exporters options to choose either private ICDs or the port to release their goods.
Mr Khan, chairman of QNS Container Services Limited, said that it takes four days to release imported goods from the private ICDs.
He also said that the huge investment in the private ICDs is under threat and the investors are struggling to survive.
BGMEA vice-president A.M Chowdhury Selim said the private ICDs charge some undue fees beyond the law. The RMG exporters cannot bear the additional charges as they have to stay competitive in the international market, he added.
CPA secretary Md Omar Faruk said all the FCL containers are delivered outside the port in other countries. Delivering imported goods from inside the port affects its efficiency, he added.
About higher charges, he said the stakeholders can settle the issue through holding bilateral meetings.
At present, only 37 low-risk products like rice, wheat, waste paper, chickpeas, pulse, raw cotton, scrap, maize, soybeans, marble chips, ball clay, onion, ginger, garlic, fertiliser, soda ash, dates, sugar, bitumen, marble stone and sodium sulphate are released from the off-docks.
However, the export procedures of all products are completed at the off-docks.
In the letter, the BGMEA president said the exports were facing severe crisis due to the negative impact of Covid-19. "The international buyers are cancelling or suspending orders and so far the amount of cancelled or suspended orders stood at US$ 3.18 billion," she said.
The factories are being closed down while the entrepreneurs are passing days amid deep concerns due to wages payment obligations and over the sector's future, she added.
The exporters also alleged that the lack of space, equipment and labours in the private ICDs was causing delays in handling the goods.
"It's not possible to take delivery of the consignments from the off-docks at this moment of crisis due to additional charges and time," she said.
Under the circumstances, the exporters requested the NBR to allow continuing with the existing facilities of releasing the import consignments from Chittagong port to reduce the cost of exports and help the sector survive.
In the letter, Ms Huq also pointed out that the Patenga Container Terminal would be operational by next year to enhance the handling capacity of the Chittagong port. The terminal will have three container jetties and one dolphin jetty. The private ICD operators argued that all FCL (Full Container Load) containers at all ports of the developed countries are released from the off-docks.
There are a total of 18 private ICDs delivering only 23 per cent of the FCL containers while 10 per cent are delivered at the consignees' premises and the remaining containers are delivered from the port premises.
The private ICD operators said they have helped the country make its export-import trade vibrant during the lockdown in April and onwards.
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