More than 140 containers loaded with frozen foods have been piled up at Mongla port due to nonavailability of sufficient number of container vessels for their exports.

Leaders of the Frozen Food Exporters Association of Bangladesh in a statement here yesterday said that only 22 container ships had berthed at Mongla port during the last five months of the current fiscal year.

About 750 metric tons of frozen shrimps were exported through

those ships during the period. But, in course of time, more than 140 containers with frozen shrimps have been piled up at the port jetty due to non-availability of container vessels during the current season.

The association leaders urged the government to take immediate measures for solving the problem. "Otherwise, the frozen food exporters will suffer huge losses," they said in their statement.

They also said that LCs from USA, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam and

Korea were already in their hands for exporting frozen food to those countries. "We have sufficient ready stock of frozen foods but nonavailability of container vessels is depriving us of their timely export," they said.

A total of 4,46,20,400 pounds of frozen foods worth Tk 1,016.38 crore was exported through Mongla port during the last fiscal year. Earlier in 1996, the export of frozen foods was seriously affected due to non-availability of container vessels.