Ctg port’s container traffic may drop in 2022
Slowdown in exports, imports to blame
The Chittagong port may post a negative growth in container throughput in 2022 compared to a year earlier due to the decline in container handling for the slowdown in Bangladesh's international trade.
Port users blamed the gradual slowdown in foreign trade amidst global economic downtrends for the fall in container traffic at the premier port of the country.
Following the decline in two consecutive months in September and October, container handling by the port ticked up in November. But the annual figure at the end of the year may remain below that of 2021.
According to data from the traffic department of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), the port handled 32,14,448 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers in 2021, up from 28,39,977 TEUs in 2020, posting a year-on-year growth of 13.19 per cent.
In the 11 months to November, container handling by various facilities of the port totalled 29,03,116 TEUs.
The CPA has compiled the data on container handling by taking into account the number of import, export and empty boxes loaded and unloaded at the main jetties of the port, the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Keraniganj, the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Dhaka, and 19 private ICDs in Chattogram.
On average, 263,919 TEUs of containers were handled each month this year. If the same pace persists in December, the total annual volume would be nearly 47,000 TEUs shy of last year's throughput.
Monthly container handling decreased by 8.6 and 3.6 per cent in September and October, but it grew by 3 per cent in November, said CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk.
Garment factories in Bangladesh have brought down production due to the decreased export orders. The import of raw materials by these factories also went down
"The port may see a decline in the overall throughput of containers this year."
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahbubul Alam said imports fell in the last few months due to the government's restriction on the import of luxury items and the higher price of commodities in the global market.
In July, the Bangladesh Bank asked banks to take up to 100 per cent of import payments in advances from businesses while opening letters of credit for luxury and non-essential items, in an effort to keep the foreign exchange reserves stable.
"The drop in container throughput at the port is nothing but a reflection of the downward trend of the country's foreign trade owing to the impacts of the global economic slowdown caused by the Russia-Ukraine war," Alam said.
Exports grew 10.89 per cent year-on-year to $21.94 billion in July-November, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.
Imports rose 6.72 per cent to $25.51 billion in July-October, according to the BB.
The shipment from the readymade garment sector, which accounted for about 85 per cent of national export receipts, witnessed a fall in orders since the beginning of the current financial year in July as the importing countries in Europe and the US have been facing economic slowdown for the war and the global energy crisis.
As a result, the growth of garment shipments from Bangladesh halved in July-October compared to a year ago.
The European Union and the US are the two largest export destinations of Bangladesh.
"Garment factories have cut production due to the decreased export orders. The import of raw materials by these factories also went down," said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, a former first vice-president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Port users think that the port's position may slip in the global ranking of the busiest container ports due to the reduction in container throughput.
The port experienced a negative growth in container handling in 2020 because of the slide in container traffic mainly for global supply chain disruption amidst the coronavirus pandemic. It rebounded last year, clocking the highest growth.