The apex garment makers’ body in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), is in favour of releasing the import consignments from the Chittagong Port rather than the private Inland Container Depots or ICDs.
This was underlined in recent media reports, which mentioned the garment makers’ body has maintained that it takes seven to eight days to release import consignments from the private ICDs compared to Chittagong Port’s two days.
In a letter written to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman in this direction recently, BGMEA’s First Vice-President Syed Nazrul Islam, reportedly, requested the CPA Chairman that the BGMEA wants the release of their consignments of imported goods from the port even as the CPA has, reportedly, decided that during the lockdown, which is starting from 1 July, goods will be delivered from the ICDs instead of the port, as was the practice last year.
In its letter, the garment makers’ body, reportedly, maintained that it takes two days to release goods from the port yard compared to around 7-8 days from the ICDs and, besides that, ICDs also charge more than the port, which the BGMEA in its letter maintained, is not possible to pay in such trying times.