Despite special arrangements to keep the country’s main revenue station operational during the seven-day Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, economic activity at Chattogram Port and Customs showed minimal benefit.
Revenue collection at the Chattogram Custom House dropped sharply, while port delivery activities remained largely stagnant.
To ensure uninterrupted services, the Chattogram Custom House deployed 68 officials during the Eid holidays from 17 to 23 March. Officials from different tiers—including deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, revenue officers, programmers, and computer operators—were assigned duties under an office order issued on 11 March and signed by Deputy Commissioner Habibur Rahman.
Although officials were present, the activities did not gain the expected momentum. During the seven-day holiday period, the Chattogram Custom House collected only Tk19.97 crore. No revenue was collected for four consecutive days from 20 to 23 March.
On 17 March, the first day of the holiday, only Tk77 lakh was collected. Revenue rose to Tk17.49 crore on 18 March and Tk1.71 crore on 19 March before dropping to zero for the next four days.
By comparison, revenue on 16 March, the day before the holidays, stood at Tk578.78 crore, and on 24 March, when offices reopened, it reached Tk260.87 crore.
Stakeholders say the main problem lies not in keeping the Custom House open, but in the absence of a coordinated ecosystem. Even though customs and port operations remained functional, related institutions remained closed, preventing momentum in activities.
Mahfuzul Haque Shah, former director of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told TIMES of Bangladesh that even if the port and customs are operational, no benefit can be gained if related institutions—such as banks, C&F agents, shipping agents, and freight forwarders—are inactive.
He added that offices and factories of importing and exporting companies also remain closed during Eid, halting the movement of goods-carrying vehicles on roads.
A similar trend was observed at Chattogram Port. Despite special arrangements to keep the port open, importers largely did not come forward to take delivery of goods, resulting in a sharp drop in container delivery.
On 18 March, container delivery stood at 4,056 TEUs, on 19 March at 2,166 TEUs, and no delivery took place on 22 March. Only 1,189 TEUs were delivered on 23 March.
Recovery remained slow after the holidays, with 1,581 TEUs delivered on 24 March and 2,590 TEUs on 25 March. Under normal circumstances, daily container delivery ranges between 3,500 and 4,000 TEUs.
Stakeholders noted that due to the government holiday on 26 March and weekly holidays on 27–28 March, full recovery would take several more days.
Container congestion at the port yard also increased. On 18 March, the yard held 39,714 TEUs, rising to 42,685 TEUs by 25 March, an increase of 2,971 TEUs or roughly 7.5 per cent in seven days.
Industry leaders said that without synchronised operations across all stakeholders, keeping only the port and customs open cannot deliver expected results.
Saiful Alam, President of the Chattogram C&F Agents Association, said agencies that did operate were able to complete clearance work, marking the success of keeping customs operational during Eid.
Shafiqul Alam Jewel, Managing Director of AMMS Group and former vice chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, stressed that policy-level intervention is required to ensure all related institutions are active to benefit from holiday operations.
Port authorities highlighted that operational activities within the port remained fully functional. Syed Refayet Hamim, secretary and spokesperson of Chattogram Port Authority, said vessel berthing, cargo handling, and container operations continued smoothly throughout the holiday period.
He added that if importers had come forward to take delivery, numbers would have been higher. Based on previous experience, deliveries are expected to return to normal levels in the following week.
A press release from the Port Authority on 25 March showed that between 17 and 23 March, the port handled a total of 2.508 million metric tonnes of cargo, including 2.361 million tonnes of imports and 146,828 tonnes of exports. The highest single-day handling was 434,434 metric tonnes on 18 March.
During the same period, 54,898 TEUs of containers were processed, including 28,961 TEUs of imports and 25,937 TEUs of exports. The highest single-day container handling was 11,861 TEUs on 18 March. A total of 64 ships berthed and were serviced during the period.
