Traders estimate a six-day strike at Chattogram Port caused losses of nearly Tk 3,000 crore to Bangladesh’s import-export trade, as operations at the country’s main seaport were brought close to a standstill.
The strike began on 31 January in protest of the proposed leasing of the New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World and continued until Thursday evening, 5 February.
Although port operations resumed after the agitation was suspended for two days, port users said clearing the backlog would take several more days.
Business leaders warned that prolonged or renewed disruption could cause lasting damage to trade, particularly ahead of Ramadan and the national election, when import demand and export commitments are elevated.
On Thursday, Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Shakhawat Hossain held meetings with law enforcement agencies, port officials, labour leaders and business representatives, warning of a tough government stance if operations did not resume by Friday morning.
Briefing journalists, the adviser said negotiations with DP World had been under way for six months and questioned the timing of continued agitation before Ramadan.
Following the warning, the Chatogram Bondar Rokkha Shongram Porishad announced a two-day suspension of the strike, allowing operations to resume from Thursday evening.
Amanullah-Al-Sagir Chuttu, managing director of Friends Group of Companies and a former director of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told TIMES that direct trade losses alone had exceeded Tk 3,000 crore.
He said losses were driven by vessel delays, halted yard deliveries, disrupted industrial supply chains and stalled shipments, particularly in the garment sector.
BGMEA Vice President Mohammad Rafique Chowdhury said most garment exports move through the NCT and that export shipments had remained suspended for six days, causing serious damage to the sector.
Port operations resumed around 5:30 pm on Thursday at Chattogram Port and 21 private inland container depots, with export containers beginning to move from depots to the port.
Work also restarted at the General Cargo Berth, the New Mooring Container Terminal and the Chittagong Container Terminal.
Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Ship Handling and Berth Operators Association, confirmed that container loading and delivery resumed from Thursday evening.
Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association, said export containers at depots rose to 13,150 TEUs by 5 February from a normal level of about 8,500 TEUs before the strike.
Chattogram Port data showed 37,312 TEUs stacked in the port yard on 4 February, while 106 ships were waiting at the jetty and outer anchorage.
Leaders of 10 major business bodies described the shutdown as a “catastrophe” in a joint statement issued after an emergency meeting at the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association office in Gulshan.
They said it was the first time in the port’s history that shipping operations had come to a complete halt.
The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that traders are paying an additional Tk 10,000 to Tk 15,000 a day due to unloading delays and that prolonged disruption could lead to order cancellations, higher domestic prices and risks to investment.
