"Apparel exporters race against time due to air, sea, and ticket hikes", 2 August 2024

Bangladeshi apparel exporters are facing increasing difficulties in shipping their goods, even by expensive air freight, as their lead times are getting shorter because of manufacturing and shipment delays brought on by the curfew and internet blackout.

Companies claim that despite some buyers extending deadlines by up to seven days, heavy container congestion is posing similar issues to both air and sea transit, making it impossible to satisfy lead times.

Industry insiders also said that the cost of air freight, which was US $ 2 just five months ago, had increased to US $ 6 per kilogramme of cargo from Dhaka to Europe. In a similar vein, the cost of air freight for shipments to the United States has increased from US $ 3 in December to US $ 7.50–US $ 8 per kilogramme.

They said Dhaka airport is already overloaded due to massive cargo volumes, with some goods having to be stored outside the cargo area because of a lack of available cargo flights.

The buildup of cargo is caused by several causes, including a scarcity of cargo airlines and a lack of space in the cargo area, according to Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association. He added that since late December, clothing producers have been under tremendous pressure to guarantee prompt delivery of their merchandise...

Amid this situation, many exporters are compelled to use Indian airports for shipments, said Kabir Ahmed...

He also noted that two chartered planes are scheduled to start operations from Dhaka this month, which will help support apparel exporters. The situation may improve after the third terminal at Dhaka airport, scheduled to open by June next year, begins operations.

Air shipments through Indian airports have increased, according to Kabir Ahmed, mostly because Indian airlines can provide prices that are at least US $ 1 less than those from Bangladesh. However, he also mentioned that getting to Indian airports involves travelling 1,600 miles by road.