Businesses oppose Ctg port tariff hike

Businesses urged the government not to raise service tariffs at Chattogram port by a massive 41 percent at once, but to increase them rationally in phases, aiming to keep the country's foreign trade competitive in the global market.

They made the proposal at a meeting held at the shipping ministry in Dhaka yesterday to review the proposed new tariff structure by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).

Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain chaired the meeting, which was attended by leaders of different business bodies and port users' associations, along with CPA Chairman SM Moniruzzaman and senior port officials.

The proposed tariff structure—approved by the finance ministry on July 24—was supposed to come into effect once the proposal was published in the gazette after being vetted by the law ministry.

Yesterday's meeting was called by the shipping ministry to review the tariff with the CPA and the stakeholders, as port users have been opposing the steep increase in tariffs.

According to sources in the shipping ministry, the meeting ended with no decision.

At the meeting, CPA Deputy Chief Finance and Accounts Officer Qazi Meraz Uddin Arif, in a PowerPoint presentation, argued for the tariff hike, which is being made after 40 years.

The CPA official said that the port tariffs are still lower than those of other major global ports, even after the adjustment.

Addressing the meeting, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Mahmud Hasan Khan termed the steep rise in tariffs unacceptable.

Talking to The Daily Star, Khan said they argued that the country's foreign trade would lose competitiveness if such an excessive tariff hike were implemented.

Business expenses need to be reduced ahead of LDC graduation, he added.

Khan said they proposed gradually raising the tariffs by 10 percent annually in phases instead of increasing them by such an exorbitant 40 percent.

Opposing the tariff hike, Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA) Chairman Syed M Arif said at the meeting that after the berth operators and the private off-dock operators hiked tariffs, if the port tariffs were also hiked, it would further raise overall trade costs.

He warned that in the face of such tariff hikes, foreign shipping lines would have no option but to increase freight charges as well, which would negatively impact the country's foreign trade.

Port users said the services at Chattogram port are still not at the expected level, as vessels at ports in neighbouring countries depart within a day after completing loading and unloading, while it takes several days here.