STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Import and export activities resumed at sea and land ports across the country yesterday after revenue officials called off their two-day nationwide shutdown on Sunday evening.

Officials said they were trying to expedite customs procedures to clear the backlog accumulated on Saturday and Sunday.

At Chattogram port, customs operations for both import and export activities resumed soon after the shutdown was called off, according to Mohammad Saidul Islam, deputy commissioner of the Custom House, Chattogram.

During the two-day work stoppage, some 3,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of export containers had been left stranded at the port, according to port sources.

After the shutdown was called off, 310 TEUs were offloaded from the MV Amalfi Bay, while 1,340 TEUs of export containers were loaded, they said.

Several trade bodies and clearing and forwarding agencies that operate on behalf of importers and exporters welcomed the resumption.

Saiful Alam, president of the Chattogram C&F Agents Association, said the two-day suspension had caused severe congestion in both import and export operations.

“The port has started to clear the backlog,” he said. Export customs duties were processed on Sunday night, and vessel registrations, along with other essential approvals, were underway, he added.

Alam hoped that normalcy at the port would be restored within the next few days.

At Benapole Land Port, import and export activities restarted in full swing yesterday morning, said Shamim Hossain, director of the port.

Around 3,000 handling workers returned