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Ctg port saw 5.36% growth in container handling in FY24
DWAIPAYAN BARUA, Ctg
The Chattogram port posted a 5.36 percent year-on-year growth in container handling in the just concluded 2023-24 fiscal year.
The port handled 31.69 lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, including import, export and empty ones in FY24, up from 30.07 lakh TEUs in the previous fiscal, according to data provided by the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
The figure was prepared by calculating the number of containers loaded and unloaded at the main jetties of the port, Pangaon Inland Container Terminal at Keraniganj and Kamalapur Inland Container Depot in Dhaka, said CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk.
The overall increase in container handling in the concluded fiscal year is a testimony to the rise of foreign trade in Bangladesh, overcoming the downtrend caused by the global economic turmoil amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, he said.
Different types of commercial items, commodity, machineries, chemical products and raw materials of all industries except cement and ceramics sector are imported through containers while export goods are solely carried through containers.
Overall handling of cargo -- containerised and bulk -- experienced 4.18 percent year-on-year growth in FY24.
The port handled a record 12.32 crore tonnes of cargo in FY24, up from 11.83 crore tonnes in the previous year.
The authority is making continuous efforts to enhance the port’s capacity and efficiency by expanding yard and equipment facilities, the CPA secretary added.
The port’s container storage capacity was increased and different new equipment are also being added, he said.
The port saw a 7.62 percent year-on-year drop in container handling in FY23 after handling a record 32.55 lakh TEUs in FY22, which represented 5.11 percent year-on-year growth.
Container handling grew 3.1 percent year-on-year in FY21, 2.92 percent in FY20 and 3.9 percent in FY19.
The total volume of containers handled in FY21 was 30.97 lakh TEUs compared to 30.04 lakh TEUs in FY20 and 29.19 lakh TEUs in FY19.

Ctg customs logged record revenue in FY24

Enhanced monitoring paid off, customs officials say
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Chattogram
Revenue collected by the Customs House, Chattogram (CHC) jumped 9.4 percent year-on-year to Tk 68,562.72 crore in the just concluded 2023-24 fiscal year.
This was the highest revenue generated by the customs house at the Chattogram port, the country’s biggest port handling roughly 90 percent of total annual trade.
The increased collection was a direct outcome of enhanced monitoring efforts to deter misconduct and the revision of the Customs Act-1969 in June 2020, which empowered officials to impose a minimum penalty for inaccurate declarations of imported items.
On June 2020, the National Board of Revenue fixed a minimum fine for false declaration which is twice the amount of revenue dodged. Earlier, there was no minimum fine.
Revenue receipts stood at Tk 62,657.81 crore in fiscal 2022-23.
Revenue worth Tk 19,000 crore was generated through the imports of 12 products, including high-speed diesel, furnace oil, liquefied natural gas, apple cement clinkers, palm oil, broken or crushed stone, and petroleum oils.
The customs authorities reported a surge in the import of these items due to heightened demand in the energy, power, and construction industries.
These products ranked as the most imported goods over the last 10 years.
Other leading revenue-generating commodities included oranges, betel nuts, milk powder, scrap ships, automobiles, automotive components, finished ceramics, and electronic goods.
Custom House Commissioner Mohammad Fyzur Rahman attributed the higher revenue generation to the prevention of false declarations and implementation of good governance.
“We’ve enhanced surveillance to prevent irregularities in imports and put emphasis on setting tariffs as per actual prices of goods. The customs house has also worked to expedite assessment and clearance.”
These efforts have deterred dishonest traders from engaging in irregularities, he added.