Experts on Saturday said that weak logistics infrastructure and high business costs were among the key reasons behind Bangladesh’s lack of a trade-supportive environment.
They stressed the importance of implementing the national logistics policy and engaging efficient foreign and domestic private-sector operators in port management, along with reducing container clearance time and removing policy barriers.
They were speaking at a roundtable titled ‘Integrated Port and Logistics Development for a Trade-Driven Bangladesh’, organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its office in the capital.
At the event, M Masrur Reaz, chairman and chief executive officer of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, presented the keynote.
He said that reducing logistics costs by 25 per cent could increase exports by 20 per cent, while a 1 per cent reduction in transportation costs could raise exports by 7.4 per cent.
He also said that exports would be increased by 7.4 per cent if dwell times could be reduced by 1 day at the Chattogram port.
Moreover, setting the minimum speed at 40 kilometres per hour at the national highways could also increase the exports by 3.7 per cent.
‘If there were no congestion, the total costs borne by truck operators would be 35.5 per cent lower on average, along with 0.5 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emission and an average 84 per cent decrease in in-transit inventory carrying costs,’ he added.
Masrur Reaz said that Bangladesh lagged behind its competitors in various trade logistics indices.
‘In Logistics Performance Index, Bangladesh ranked 88 while India’s position was 38 and Vietnam’s was 43,’ he added, saying that in Trading Across Border index, Bangladesh’s rank was 176, far behind India’s 68 and Vietnam’s 104.
Moreover, in Container Port Performance Index 2024, Chattogram ranked 356, where India’s JNPT’s rank was 23 and Vietnam’s Haiphong secured 30th, he added.
He also said that Bangladesh had a lack of temperature-controlled logistics and adequate cold storage at both air and sea transport despite unpredictable weather, along with inefficient land port operations and partially functional National Single Window.
He stressed the importance of effective implementation of the national logistics policy, involving both international-standard foreign operators and domestic private sector companies in port management, reducing container clearance time at the Chattogram Port and removing policy-related barriers.
He emphasised enhancing trade-related capacity, improving infrastructure and modernising policies and regulations.
He also recommended an integrated logistics hub centred on Chattogram and Mongla ports to develop Bangladesh’s coastal region for regional and global trade, along with modernised port infrastructure and multimodal transport networks, such as sea, road, rail and waterway.
He also suggested increasing deep seaport capacity, strengthening digital customs and trade facilitation, improving the supply chain and expanding modern warehousing and distribution centre facilities.
Md Salim Ullah, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Management, said that Bangladesh remained significantly behind in the efficient management of integrated ports and logistics systems, thereby continuously increasing the cost of doing business.
He also stressed the importance of coordinated efforts among all stakeholders to achieve the desired development in the sector.
In his welcome speech, Razeev H Chowdhury, senior vice-president of the DCCI, said that Bangladesh’s export competitiveness was being severely hampered by infrastructural limitations and a lack of institutional coordination in the country’s logistics sector.
For this reason, Bangladesh is falling behind its competing nations, he added, noting that lengthy cargo clearance procedures at ports, slow transportation through road and rail networks, and limitations in modern cold-chain logistics were making the overall supply chain costly and inefficient.
He emphasised the need to ensure an efficient, sustainable and automated logistics ecosystem along with infrastructure development under public-private partnership initiatives.
SK Masadul Alam Masud, managing director of Shahariar Steel Mills Limited, said that entrepreneurs were reluctant to use the Pangaon Port due to the absence of necessary scanning devices.
He also pointed out that insufficient inland waterway infrastructure was increasing industrial transportation costs.
Nusrat Nahid Babi, senior transport specialist at World Bank Bangladesh, said that customs clearance procedures in Bangladesh had yet to be fully simplified and modernised.
Humayun Kabir, senior project officer (transport) at the Asian Development Bank, emphasised on ensuring digitisation and automation across all levels of logistics services.
Government officials, business leaders and representatives from development partners also spoke at the event.
