Commercial lifeline clearing with import release, but exports still remain blocked

Bangladesh's blocked commercial lifeline begins clearing with manual import release but digitally-handled export yet remains blocked to the dismay of exporters and buyers both.

Customs authorities Tuesday restored some of its networks to release some key commodities and raw materials while the shipment of exportable goods remained mostly suspended at major ports, sources said.

Imported perishables and food items are being released from Chittagong seaport and Benapole and Bhomra land-ports, but customs officials have yet to resume export of goods due to internet-network disruptions.

Following the complexities, exporters are facing uncertainties about meeting lead time and searching alternative routes in case seaport cannot provide the services.

Industry insiders fear losing work orders, which may divert to the competitors, as their export shipments are stuck in the port backlog.

In the long run, the country may face 'reputational crisis' following cutoff of communications with the rest of the world.

"In the digital era, none cuts internet connection keeping them completely isolated," says a buyer.

AK Azad, the owner of Ha-Meem group, says exporters have a timeline to ship goods as per requirement of international buyers anyway.

"If the seaport is unable to release export goods, we have to switch to airfreights incurring higher cost," he adds.

Mr Azad, also a former chief of Bangladesh's apex trade- chamber FBCCI, demands immediate steps to resume internet connection to bring normality back in business.

Buyers of readymade garments (RMG) say they are in the dark as they could not establish any communications in absence of internet connection, excepting phone and text messages.

Talking to the FE, one of the largest buyers of made-in-Bangladesh apparel, based in Europe, said: "We have no actual information as we can't communicate."

There is no visibility of information of how many goods are stuck in the port.

"But there has been a disruption in the supply chain. No doubt there would be disruption in future work orders," the buyer representative said, adding that they could not make shipment of last week's goods of winter season.

Asked about the quagmire, Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh country manager of H&M, one of the top western buyers, said shipments worth US$200 million remained stuck in Chattogram port due to failure in customs clearance amid internet blackout.

He says export-related works have yet to start manually as everything connected to export is done digitally though import activities started manually.

He requests immediate measures for resumption of internet, at least the broadband, and release the goods piling up in port.

He fears there would be an impact on future work orders for the time lag, saying that he even did not know whether any fresh work orders have been placed during last couple of days due to internet outages.

Winter is about to start and the prevailing situation that has disrupted the supply chain has created an opportunity for buyers to divert their orders to other destinations, he notes.

Echoing the same, Kyaw Sein Thay Dolly, managing director of Cloths R Us Ltd, says: "Previously, even in Covid time, communication was on and garment sector was kept out of the purview of any restriction."

Kazi Iftekhar Hossain, former president of Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association, says it is uncertain what buyers are thinking now as communication is cut off.

"July is a very crucial month as winter season starts and end of summer," he notes, adding that there is high risk of work orders shifting to other countries.

There would be huge congestion of inbound and outbound goods at the ports, he says, adding that large volumes of export shipments might face air shipments to meet the lead time.

"And who would bear the cost-buyers would not share the additional cost!" he exclaims, adding that all would give a wrong message to buyers that would result in loss of buyers' confidence.

According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the sector incurs loss worth Tk 16 billion daily due to production suspension in factories.

All export-oriented garment factories remained shuttered since Sunday though some reopened Tuesday in Gazipur, in some areas of Narayanganj and Chattogram, according to industry-insiders.

Situation in customs stations: According to customs officials, the e-exp dashboard of Bangladesh Bank is accessible to the customs while Sonali Bank is supporting them through its core banking software (CBS) providing financial documents to facilitate release of goods.

Abdul Hakim, commissioner of Benapole Custom House, has said the Asycuda system started working Tuesday to assess import-export goods on the basis of importers' documents.

He said the Benapole Custom House had released 116.56 tonnes of green chilis, 160 tonnes of tomatoes, 40 tonnes of fish, and 12.5 tonnes of fresh dates in the last two days (July 21-22).

Also, 116 export consignments with 120 tonnes of goods has been export through the largest land port in those days, he added.

Country's largest sea-port has released some 55 consignments of goods in the last two days through manual system mainly perishables, food grains and raw materials.

Products having bank or any kind of financial documents with duty-taxes paid are being released as per instruction of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said Imam Gazzali, Deputy Commission of Chittagong Custom House (CCH).

He, however, said without internet the Asycuda system, port authority's server and banks cannot operate causing difficulties to release goods.

On an average, some 13000 bill of entry and 6500 bill of export is submitted in the CCH every day.

Its natural to create congestion in the port as some 18000 tonnes of export goods are entering the port while import consignments are being piled up every day.

Customs commissioner of Khulna Syed Atiqur Rahman said Bhomra is one of the major entry points of stones which remained shut but release of perishable goods remained uninterrupted.

From July 20 to 22, 2024, the customs house has released 124 trucks of green chili, 117 trucks of onion, five trucks of capsicum, seven trucks of tomato and one truck of ginger, he said.

Mr Rahman said one truck of export goods have also been released from Bhomra port.

However, exporters said their export goods as well as import of raw materials remained stuck in the CCH.

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