Bangladesh’s garment exports are disrupted by a fire at the airport cargo facility
Major garment exporters’ goods and materials have suffered significant damage due to a large fire at the Dhaka airport’s import cargo complex. Industry leaders warned on Sunday that the losses and trade repercussions are expected to reach millions of dollars.
Flights had to be temporarily halted when the fire started at the airport’s cargo village’s import area on Saturday afternoon. As firemen and airport authorities evaluated the damage on Sunday, smoke continued to rise from the facility’s burned remains.
Bangladesh’s $47 billion garment sector depends on imported raw materials, ready-to-export clothing, and product samples, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
According to Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), “this incident has caused serious damage to the country’s export trade, especially the garment sector.”
“Urgent air shipments and high-value items have been destroyed, including clothing that was ready for shipping, production raw materials, and, most crucially, product samples.”
He cautioned that future business might be at risk due to the loss of samples. “These samples are crucial for increasing orders and attracting new customers. “Our members might lose out on future opportunities if we lose them,” he continued.
ESSENTIAL FIRE-BURNING SAMPLES
In order to ascertain the magnitude of the losses, BGMEA has started to collect data from impacted exporters. “An online portal has been launched to expedite data collection, and we have requested that all members submit comprehensive lists of damaged goods,” Khan continued.
One of Bangladesh’s biggest logistics centers, the airport cargo village handles about 600 metric tons of dry cargo per day, which doubles during the peak season from October to December.
“Approximately 200 to 250 factories ship their goods by air every day,” Khan stated. “The financial impact is substantial given that scale.”
An investigation is being conducted to ascertain the cause of the fire.
This week, there have been three significant fires reported in Bangladesh. At least 16 people were killed and injured in a fire that occurred Tuesday in Dhaka at a clothing business and a nearby chemical storage. A seven-story garment factory building in Chittagong’s export processing zone was destroyed by fire on Thursday.
After China, Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of clothing. About 4 million people are employed in this industry, which supplies big international stores like Walmart, H&M, and Gap. It brings in about $40 billion annually, or more than a tenth of the nation’s GDP.
It is anticipated that the incident, which occurred during the busiest export season, will cause shipment delays and make it more difficult to meet deadlines for foreign deliveries.
