Trade halts as customs shutdown paralyses sea, land ports

Export and import activities at sea and land ports across the country ground to a near halt, as a nationwide shutdown by revenue officials entered its second day yesterday.

Under the banner of the NBR Reform Unity Council, customs officials suspended assessment, inspection, and clearance of goods across all ports, leaving external trade in limbo.

Chittagong port, the country's main maritime gateway handling 80 percent of foreign trade, saw no container movement in or out for a second consecutive day.

Container transport between the port and 19 private inland container depots (ICDs), along with deliveries from port yards, remained suspended due to the absence of customs approvals.

At least three vessels deferred their scheduled departure after a large chunk of export boxes failed to reach the port from ICDs. More than 3,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of export containers were scheduled to be shipped on those vessels yesterday.

One of them, the Singapore-bound MV Hong Da Xin-68, had bookings for over 1,600 TEUs.

Md Saiful Islam, head of the Chattogram branch of the vessel's local agent Sea Consortium Ltd, said the departure of the ship was postponed as 636 TEUs failed to arrive by Saturday night.

Shipping agents fear these delays may cause feeder vessels to miss mother ships at transhipment ports, jeopardising shipments bound for the US and Europe.

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), said cargo delivery has come to a complete standstill as customs officials abstained from examination, scanning, container unstuffing, and issuing exit approvals.

He added that container handling at the jetties had also slowed down with a lower-than-usual flow of export boxes to the port.

Only 139 TEUs of import-laden containers were delivered from the port in the 24 hours till 8:00 am yesterday. The daily average stands at around 4,500 TEUs.

Port officials also feared that queues of vessels might grow longer, as many incoming ships were yet to receive registration numbers from customs — a prerequisite for container handling.

The Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) issued an advisory informing clients that all operations at ICDs had come to a complete halt.

Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of BICDA, said private ICDs were unable to unload export cargoes from factory-covered vans, stuff containers, or transport containers to and from the port owing to the suspension of customs work at container freight stations.

Meanwhile, business leaders sounded the alarm over increasing financial losses and the potential damage to the country's reputation among international buyers.

"This shutdown is sending the wrong message to our international clients," said a garment exporter, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They will think Bangladesh is not a stable place to do business."

Syed M Tanvir, managing director of Pacific Jeans, said, "Foreign buyers do business on strict timelines. Missing shipment deadlines erodes their confidence in Bangladeshi suppliers."

"What's worse, exporters may have to bear demurrage charges for delays they didn't cause," he added.

SIMILAR DISRUPTIONS AT OTHER PORTS

Export operations at Dhaka airport were also hit. Mohammed Abul Hossain, a fresh vegetables and fruits exporter, said nearly 100 tonnes of produce could not be shipped yesterday due to the customs work stoppage.

At Akhaura Land Port in Brahmanbaria, all trade came to a halt. A handful of consignments had cleared the port on Saturday using pre-approved documents, but no such activity was seen yesterday.

"Due to the ongoing stalemate, no traders have brought in goods. As a result, all trading activity has stopped," said Nesar Ahmed Bhuiyan, a local importer and trader.

Burimari Land Port in Lalmonirhat and Sonahat Land Port in Kurigram also remained closed, causing trade losses since Saturday.

Faruk Hossain, a trader at Burimari port, said five of his trucks carrying imported goods were stranded at India's Changrabandha port.

"If I fail to bring in the goods on time, I will incur huge losses," said Hossain. Several trucks loaded with export cargo were also stuck on the Bangladeshi side.

Niaz Ahmed, another trader, expressed frustration, saying, "This is the first time port operations have been paralysed due to protests by government officials. We are facing losses, and no one seems to care what we are going through."

On average, 300 trucks pass through Burimari daily, 260 to 270 of them with imports.

At Sonahat Land Port, the situation was no better. Bahar Uddin, a local trader, said around 40 trucks carrying stones were stranded on the Indian side.

"If these raw materials don't enter the country in time, several construction sites could face a shortage," he said.

At Benapole Land Port, operations remained suspended for a second straight day.

Emdadul Haque Lota, general secretary of the Benapole Customs C&F Agents Association, said an average of 500 trucks carrying imports and 250 carrying exports use the port each day.

Currently, around 3,000 trucks loaded with goods are stuck on the Indian side, waiting to enter Benapole.

Although operations at Mongla port continued without interruption yesterday, officials said a prolonged shutdown could lead to disruption.

Md Makruzzaman, deputy secretary of the port authority's board and public relations department, said, "So far, there has been no congestion or delay at the port. However, if this continues, operational difficulties may arise."