Trade with Myanmar thru Teknaf comes to a halt

The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar through the Teknaf land port came to a complete halt on Sunday due to the escalation of the fighting in Rakhine state between the government forces in the Southeast Asian nation and the rebel Arakan Army.

This may send the prices of essentials, including onions and gingers, higher ahead of Ramadan in Bangladesh since a portion of the items are imported from Myanmar to meet domestic demand, local business people warn.

No vessels from Myanmar have docked at the port since Sunday, said Jasim Uddin Chowdhury, general manager of the privately run land port.

The last vessels, which carried dry fish, coconut, and ginger, arrived on Saturday, he added.

Water vessels are used to import items from Myanmar through the port.

The trade with the neighbouring country is carried out under a bilateral agreement using bank drafts instead of letters of credit.

The import from Myanmar had been decreasing since November after the Arakan Army launched attacks against the Myanmar military forces in Rakhine, which borders with Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban and Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas in Cox's Bazar, Jasim said.

Before that, 15 to 22 vessels with goods such as chilled fish, pickles, dried fish, rice, dried coconuts, onions, gingers, and wood from the country used to dock at the port every day, he said.

Since November, the number of vessels had dropped to five to seven. The imports have remained suspended now, he added.

Shawkot Ali, owner of Chowdhury Traders, a Teknaf port-based importer, said the price of some essentials, including onions and gingers, might rise ahead of Ramadan since the import of the items from Myanmar has almost stopped.

He said the businessmen who import goods from Myanmar are now in a difficult situation as the two banks in Maungdaw and Sittwe that receive foreign demand drafts from Sonali Bank and AB Bank of Bangladesh don't have access to the telecommunication network.

Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine while Maungdaw is a town in the state.

"We are importing goods under the demand drafts opened in January. When the demand drafts are all used up, there will be no way to import goods from the country," Ali said.

Owing to inadequate local production, Bangladesh has to rely on imports to meet the demand for onions and gingers, among other vegetables and spices.