Bangladesh’s ICDs raise container handling charges by 25%

Handling export containers involves an export stuffing package and verifying gross mass, said BICDA secretary general Mohammad Ruhul Amin Sikder.

Bangladesh’s private inland container depots (ICDs) recently raised charges for services involved in handling export-laden containers by 25 per cent citing the hike in fuel prices early this month. The decision was arrived at by the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) and the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA).

The package charge has been raised from Tk 5,092 to Tk 6,365 for 20-foot containers and from Tk 6,790 to Tk 8,488 for 40-foot containers. The charge for verifying the gross mass was raised by Tk 354 to Tk 1,769. Freight forwarders usually pay these charges on behalf of international buyers.

The hike will be implemented retrospectively since August 6, the day the new fuel prices became effective.

The package involves taking an empty container from a depot yard to its container freight station (CFS), loading goods into the container, taking the loaded container back to the depot yard and transporting it to the Chattogram port for shipment.

BICDA had recently unilaterally raised import container handling charges by 34 per cent. It, along with the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, also raised empty container handling charges by 24 per cent.

The charges were the maximum an ICD could impose as many individually charge lesser under deals with buyers, Sikder was quoted as saying by Bangla media reports.

BAFFA vice president Khairul Alam Sujan said ICD owners wanted to raise both charges by 45 per cent but BICDA representatives agreed to 25 per cent considering the huge rise in costs and the present economic situation.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)