#Title

TRANSPORT STRIKE
Losses pile up for traders, exporters
Refayet Ullah Mirdha, Dwaipayan Barua and Akanda Mohammad Zahid
........................................................
Losses piled up for local traders and exporters yesterday as goods could not move owing to the countrywide transport strike.
On the day, very few export-bound and import-oriented goods-laden cargo containers were seen on the roads and highways as the strike, called to protest a 23 per cent hike in the price of fuels, entered into the third day.
The transportation of goods for the domestic markets was also disrupted because of the strike.
Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, said over the last three days, goods movement both at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the Chattogram port was almost zero.
“A backlog of export and import goods has already been created at the airport and the seaport.”
Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the shipment of garment items worth $125 million were affected due to the transport strike.
The release of imported raw materials at the Chattogram port has remained stopped for the last three days, he added.
“We are fearing a big loss as we may have to make expensive air shipments to supply the goods to the buyers on time.”
For every air shipment, exporters have to spend about 70 per cent of the export value of a consignment, according to Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
“So, we don’t make any profit if an air shipment takes place.”
The garment sector alone was losing shipments worth $157 million daily if the value of the items shipped last month was taken into account, said Hatem.
“We will face air shipment, discount or demurrage if a back-log in the port is created.”
Habibur Rahman, a vegetable wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said truckers were charging an extra Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 for every trip taking advantage of the strike.
Before the strike, which began on Friday, the transport cost for a truck full of vegetables from Dinajpur and Thakurgaon to Dhaka was about Tk 20,000-22,000. But it has shot up to Tk 25,000-30,000, he said.
The supply of products in the Karwan Bazar kitchen market plunged by half due to the strike, sending the prices of essential commodities high.
Rahman alleged that he had to pay Tk 2,000 to policemen in addition to the stipulated ferry charge for a truck full of vegetables from Jashore to Dhaka.
Mubarak Ali, president of the South Bengal Vegetable Traders Cooperative Society, echoed Rahman about the additional expenses faced at the ferry ghat.
Biswajit Saha, director for corporate and regulatory affairs of City Group, said the transport strike had impacted the supply chain.
“We are trying to supply products using our own transport system. Still, about 50 per cent of the products could not be delivered.”
The group has imported goods, but they could not be released from the Chattogram port due to a lack of transport, Saha added.
Three days have elapsed with no breakthrough coming for an indefinite strike enforced by owners of public transport, trucks and lorries over a fuel price hike. The photo taken on Saturday shows the deserted entrance to the Chattogram port.
photo: Rajib Raihan
rEad more on b3