Businesses, especially exporters and stakeholders in the logistics sector, have urged the authorities to move decisively towards implementing the National Logistics Policy 2025 by laying out a clear execution roadmap.
The appeal was made at a focus group discussion (FGD) on logistics sector challenges and opportunities, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at the Westin Dhaka today.
Key stakeholders across the logistics ecosystem, including representatives from readymade garments, freight forwarding, inland container depots, shipping lines, airlines, and courier services, attended the discussion.
A 1 percent reduction in logistics costs could increase exports by around 7 percent, particularly as Bangladesh approaches graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category, said M Masrur Reaz, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh.
Referring to the Chattogram port labour strike, he noted that logistics disruptions can severely impact the national economy. Logistics infrastructure and port capacity expansion will be crucial to supporting the projected gross domestic product (GDP) of $760 billion by 2030, he added.
He also identified major implementation gaps in the National Logistics Policy, including government monopolies in rail and air cargo, weak inter-ministerial coordination, and the absence of a central logistics authority.
AmCham Bangladesh President Syed Ershad Ahmed said that while Bangladesh’s logistics sector has evolved, it continues to lag behind regional competitors and remains poorly understood domestically.
He added that the global logistics landscape is being rapidly reshaped by forces such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, decarbonisation and fuel transitions, geopolitics, regionalisation, and supply chain resilience, stressing the need to bridge existing knowledge and capacity gaps to better support the country’s growing trade and investment needs.
Nusrat Nahid Babi, senior transport specialist for South Asia at the World Bank, highlighted that Bangladesh’s logistics reform momentum since 2022 must be reaffirmed by the new government through clear priorities and high-level consensus.
She outlined a phased reform agenda structured around five thematic pillars: policy and procedural simplification; multimodal logistics infrastructure and connectivity; skills and institutional capacity development; supply chain digitalisation; and investment in logistics.
Md Moinul Huq, country officer at Citibank NA Bangladesh, said there is an urgent need for customs authorities to operationalise provisions of the Customs Act 2023 by clearly defining electronic document submission and payment modalities.
Mahbubul Anam, managing director of CF Global, stressed the importance of cost rationalisation, capacity expansion, efficient courier services, and robust contingency arrangements to support time-sensitive shipments, particularly as e-commerce-driven demand for express logistics continues to grow.
Officials from the US embassy in Dhaka, including Commercial Counsellor Paul Frost and Agricultural Attaché Erin Covert, were also present at the session.
