Shippers Council of Bangladesh has sought waiver of port surcharge and demurrage charges that importers will have to pay due to delays in receiving delivered goods from ports amid the quota reform movement and curfew imposed by the government, said a press release.
Md Rezaul Karim, chairman of Shippers Council of Bangladesh, said in a statement that since July 18, due to the student movement demanding quota reform and curfew imposed by the government, the country’s import-export activities and industrial factories had come to a standstill.
Due to not being able to release the goods on time, there has been a container jam at the off-docks, including airports, sea ports and land ports, he said.
Due to the delays, importers have to pay various surcharges, including additional port charges and shipping demurrage charges. Thousands of cargo trucks have been jammed at the land ports, as traders are not able to clear the goods. This will increase the cost of goods which will be passed on to the consumer.
On the other hand, exporters are facing severe financial losses as they are unable to ship the goods, the release said.
Board of directors of the Shippers Council expressed their concern in an emergency meeting and strongly demanded that the prime minister waive additional port charges, shipping demurrage or detention charges and other surcharges for one month amid the curfew, it added.
In the meeting, the SCB board directed relevant institutions, including shipping agents, freight forwarders, clearing houses, logistics companies, customs authorities and the NBR to strengthen import-export activities from their respective positions and to work with the assurance of providing the highest level of service.
