Container and cargo handling at Chittagong Port surged during the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to the previous period, marking an 8.27 per cent growth in container handling.

According to reports, data from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) revealed a handling of 23.38 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) from July to March, up from 21.60 lakh TEUs in the same period last fiscal year.

This included imports, exports, and empty containers, monitored across main jetties, the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (ICT) at Keraniganj, and the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Dhaka.

While business leaders welcomed this trend as favourable for foreign trade, they cautioned that overall trade performance was yet to fully rebound.

Commodities for commercial use, machinery, and various industrial raw materials, excluding cement and ceramics, were imported via containers, as were goods destined for export.

Meanwhile, CPA chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail expressed optimism, anticipating container handling to reach 3.2 million TEUs by fiscal year-end if the trend persisted.

The overall cargo handling, encompassing both containerised and bulk cargo, saw a 4.38 per cent increase even as total cargo handled reached 9.16 crore tonnes, up from 8.78 crore tonnes in the same period last year.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) first vice-president Syed Nazrul Islam noted a $37.2 billion garment export figure for the period, slightly below the $39 billion target while import of raw materials for garment manufacturing and export cargo, predominantly transported via containers, showed no substantial increase as expected.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Omar Hazzaz viewed the rise in cargo handling positively, indicating a gradual uptick in import trade. However, he cautioned that full recovery of foreign trade, particularly in exports, remained elusive.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)

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