Exporters count losses for EU air cargo ban
Exporters are facing extreme difficulties in shipping their goods to the European Union due to a ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka to the 28-nation bloc.
The EU, the destination for the country's over 54 percent exports, have declared the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport a 'red zone' earlier this month due to insufficient safety and security measures, following the lead of the UK, Australia and Germany.
For instance, goods must first be screened by bomb detection dogs or equipment before they are loaded on to the aircraft -- none of which is available at the Dhaka airport.
Following the latest EU decision, which came into effect from June 1, businesses have to get their consignments re-screened at a third airport en route to an EU country.
"We are losing our business everyday," said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, adding that about $1 billion worth of garment orders are lost in a year due to the inefficiency of the airport authority.
One of the foreign airlines has informed that it will no longer carry goods from Bangladesh as it has a shortage of human resources to handle at the third airport.
Furthermore, the airliners have increased the cargo fares by 10 cents to 12 cents per kilogram for the need to re-screen them, Rahman said.
Bangladesh raked in $18.68 billion from its exports to the EU in fiscal 2015-16, which was 54.57 percent of the total receipts for the year.
Of the sum, $17.15 billion came from apparel shipments. The EU currently accounts for over 60 percent of Bangladesh's garment export receipts in a year.
Besides, 60 percent of fruit and vegetable and other perishable exports also go to the EU and their exporters are the worst sufferers because of their short shelf-life.
To address the situation, the exporters have scheduled a meeting with the aviation minister on Saturday, Rahman said.
"We want the earliest solution to this difficulty," he added.
Exporters send 800 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes of goods by air a day and they have to wait for long for screening due to the airport's low capacity.
Of the total quantity, garment items form the bulk. Nearly 700 tonnes of apparel items are shipped by air in a day, industry insiders said.
"This is not a good symptom for Bangladesh," said Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation expert, adding that the country's image has been tarnished due to declaration of red zone by the EU.
Bangladesh should have installed all the required machinery when the UK and Germany warned about this last year, he said. "But the progress is not even mentionable."
Subsequently, he urged the government to take the requisite steps urgently to restore the international community's confidence.
"Nobody has any good intention to install the machinery at the airport as per the suggestions of the EU," said a freight forwarder asking not to be named.
German carrier Lufthansa has given warnings last year and the UK has been doing it even before, but the government has only passed the time without any visible action, he added.
The civil aviation authority has already increased the cargo handling charges by two cents although the services have not improved, said Mohammed Mansur, general secretary of Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables & Allied Products Exporters' Association.
"In some cases, the service has deteriorated at the air port after the warnings from the UK and Germany."
Eight new machines were supposed to be installed last year for screening and security checks, but those are yet to be imported, he said.
The re-screening of goods to any third country airport preferably in Qatar, Dubai and Thailand takes a lot of time.
Previously, it took only 17 to 18 hours to reach to any EU country from Dhaka, but now it takes more than two days, according to Mansur.
Two explosive detecting devices are due to arrive from the US on July 4, according to Rashed Khan Menon, civil aviation and tourism minister.
"I hope the machinery could be installed by next month and the security would be improved."