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Direct shipping service to Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Bangladesh's Chittagong seaport is planned to facilitate export of jute and jute goods to overseas market.
Officials say the government also wants to enhance supply of required containers to facilitate the carrying of the traditional natural fibre to the aforesaid destinations en route to global markets.
The ministry of shipping has convened an inter-ministerial meeting for July 21 to discuss the measures that can be taken to this end.
Representatives from the National Board of Revenue, foreign, commerce, and jute ministries, chairmen of ports and other stakeholders from jute and jute goods association, and ship owners have been invited to the meet.
The officials say Bangladesh is eager to start direct shipping service with the UAE. On a recent visit there the foreign minister expressed Bangladesh's willingness to start the service as soon as possible to transship goods from there to Europe and America.
"Since then, the ministry of shipping has been working on it with utmost importance," says one official.
Bangladesh usually exports goods using transhipment ports in Singapore, Colombo, Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.
"If direct services can be introduced, the time to send containers to main destination USA and Europe will be reduced by nearly a week or so," one of shippers says.
Some European ship-liners have already introduced direct shipping connecting Chittagong port, which has cut down travel time and cost both.
Now Italy, Rotterdam, and Liverpool are among the European cities and states which are connected to Chittagong directly while works underway to connect some more cities.
Bangladesh exports 0.6 million to 0.8 million bales of raw jute each year. The country earned Tk 6.59 billion from raw-jute export in the fiscal year 2021-22.
About 7.0 to 8.0 million bales of raw jute are produced annually in Bangladesh.