Quickly release of goods from BM Container Depot: BGMEA

Garment exporters today demanded quick completion of survey and fast release of the 811 containers stored inside BM Container Depot, where a massive industrial accident took place last month, killing 49 and injuring 200.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) made the call in a meeting with Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), at the latter's office in Dhaka today.

Some 391 containers of garment items have been waiting at the port area to be exported, said Shahidullah Azim, senior vice-president of BGMEA.

Similarly, some 420 containers of imported goods mainly loaded with garment accessories or chemicals and other goods are also waiting to be released from the port, he said.

Now, a joint survey is required to release all these goods to check whether they got damaged during the blast at the container depot in Chattogram's Sitakunda, Azim said.

The survey will be conducted jointly by different government agencies, port authorities, buyers and suppliers mainly to ensure that these goods are safe, he said.

If the survey is not conducted timely, the buyers may not accept the goods from the suppliers, Azim told The Daily Star.

If the buyers do not accept the goods, the local suppliers will face hefty losses, he said.

For instance, a container is laden with garment items worth $50,000 and the total number of such containers is 391 in the port area. Similarly, the importers will also face losses if the goods are not released timely, he added.

The NBR chairman assured the BGMEA leaders that he will order for completion of the joint survey as soon as possible, Azim said.