Freight rates for the Bangladesh-China route have more than doubled over the past six months because of container delays at major ports like Shanghai, Ningbo, Singapore, and Colombo as well as supply chain disruptions brought on by the Red Sea crisis.
According to statistics from container shipping intelligence company Linerlytica, it takes almost 7 days for a ship to get berthing at Singapore port, which is a main transshipment route for Bangladesh. At normal times, it would take 1.5 days. At Singapore and the port of Columbo, fees have gone up by 50 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
Shipping companies have stated that commercial ships sailing from Bangladesh to Western countries are being forced to detour around Africa in order to reach their destinations. This is adding to the already significant 15-day delay in shipping goods from Asia, especially China, to Europe.
Furthermore, starting on 15th June, the Danish shipping giant Maersk Line would impose a peak season tax on routes from South China, including Hong Kong, to Bangladesh, ranging from US $ 700 to US $ 1,400. Twenty-foot containers (TEUs) from Chattogram to China now cost between US $ 2100 and US $ 2500 in freight; six months earlier, the same amount was between US $ 800 and US $ 1000.
According to information from shipping companies, the current freight for containers from Chattogram to Singapore port is US $ 300, which is US $ 230 for Colombo, marking a 50 per cent and 15 per cent increase respectively.
However, as soon as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began, the rate fell below US $ 3000. “Recently, due to the instability caused by attacks in the Red Sea and Iran-Israel tensions, container goods to America has risen from US $ 4500 to US $ 5000,” stated Sarwar.
According to garment owners, importing materials now takes around a month. Within seven days, goods from Vietnam and Cambodia arrive. Delivery is currently delayed since shipping items via America and Europe now takes longer than 15 days. As a result, buyers from America and Europe are moving to nations like Vietnam and Cambodia where they can provide items faster.
Not only has the cost of transporting goods in containers increased, but the cost of transporting goods via bulk carriers has also risen by more than 30 per cent, they say. In such a situation, a negative impact on Bangladesh’s imports and exports has begun to emerge, say the garment owners.
