Both export-and import-container volumes at Bangladesh’s 17 depots have fallen over the past six months to December, signaling that the country’s external trade is dropping off a cliff amid headwinds.
The handling of outbound export containers has fallen since September in a row while imports have seen a sharp year-over-year decline since July last, save a marginal growth in November.
Such a picture is evident in a data compilation of the ocean containers prepared by BICDA or Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association, an apex body of 17 inland depots in Bangladesh.
People in the industry told the FE that the war in Ukraine and the restrictions on imports played their part in contraction of the external trade. The trend even in January is "not satisfactory," they added, as the war still rages and financial belt-tightening at home goes on.
Md. Nurul Qayyum Khan, president of the BICDA, said, “Actually we are victims of the global situation created by the war in Ukraine.”
He also said the restriction on import by the Bangladesh Bank is the other cardinal cause behind the fall in import cargoes.
“We handle 38 import items and it dropped more than 44 per cent in August last,” Mr. Khan told the FE.
He, however, noted that the government has eased restrictions on the key essentials in view of the upcoming Ramadan demand. The import may increase to some extent in the coming months, he hopes.
The central bank of Bangladesh has tightened imports by discoursing buy of luxury products since July last to avoid pressures on the foreign-exchange reserves which shrank by more than 28 per cent to US$32.2 billion in a year in January 2023.
The 17 depots had handled aggregately 357282 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in the six months since July last, accounting for a drop of over 6.0 per cent from its corresponding period.
The aggregate import containers were 122652 TEUs handled during the July-December 2022 period, down by more than 19 per cent.
The export containers at the depots which handle the country’s all exports have marked a double- digit fall since September last.
The data released by the BICDA show that the export-container volume fell by over 11 per cent in September, 16 per cent in October, 13 per cent in November, and 13 per cent in December last.
On the other hand, import-container handling by the depots dropped by 8.3 per cent in July, 44.2 per cent in August, 9.2 per cent in September, and 13 per cent in October.
But import-container handling at the depots grew to some extent, by 3.2 per cent, to be specific, in November, and again fell deeper by 25 per cent in December, according to the data.
Freight forwarders who mainly deal with ocean-borne goods, hold the hope that the export volume may increase before Ramadan.
Mohammed Abdullah Jahir, chief operating officer at SAIF Maritime Limited, told the FE that export might bounce back in the coming months while, he believes, import will take time to grow.
“My prediction is that the import pickup will take time as the dollar shortage prevails, not only in Bangladesh but almost in most developing economies," he says.
“For world crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war every country is facing dollar crisis,” Mr. Jahir said, adding: “Bangladesh is no exception."
The dollar shortage in developing economies is also because of the high rate set by the US Fed.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, former BGMEA chief and managing director of Envoy Group, a leading clothing maker in Bangladesh, told the FE: “The order is on fall over the past few months."
He said the US buyers mostly affected their business more than Europe did.
Mr. Aameir Alihussain, managing director at the country's biggest rod producer - BSRM -- says they have been using their inventory following "rationing" in the imports.
"Our inventory is now drying up," he told the FE correspondent.
Mr. Aameri said there is a huge demand for construction materials during the peak season. "There will be a crisis of rods unless the opening of LCs for import of scraps is eased."
