BGMEA urges ICDs not to hike container handling charges

Readymade garment exporters have urged the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (Bicda) to withdraw its recent decision to raise various charges for handling export containers.

In a circular issued to its members on July 15, Bicda announced raising different charges for handling export and empty containers in the range of 30 percent to 80 percent.

It cited rising operational and investment costs, currency devaluation, and inflationary pressures as the key reasons behind the decision.

In a letter to the Bicda president on July 21, Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said it was not the appropriate time to increase any charges related to exports.

The country's readymade garment sector is facing many challenges both locally and globally, and exporters are struggling to run their factories, he said.

This is due to the ongoing Middle East crisis, the US reciprocal tariff, labour unrest, the energy crisis, high bank interest rates, and increased costs at every stage of production, including raw material prices and transportation costs, he said.

Facing all these adversities, exporters in this sector are trying their best to keep the trade running, he mentioned.

The BGMEA believes that it is not appropriate to hike export-related charges in this situation, as cost savings are required to maintain competitiveness, he opined.

"In the proposed revised charges, an increase of 80 percent to 100 percent from the previous rate has been proposed in some cases, and new charges have been imposed in two cases," the letter stated.

Such increases in charges without prior consultation with all stakeholders are not in accordance with the rules, it said.

The BGMEA president requested Bicda to withdraw the circular and impose charges based on the previous rates, considering the current critical situation of the readymade garment industry.