Key Highlights:
- The fire at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s air cargo complex may cause over $1 billion impact on Bangladesh’s import-export activities.
- Garment, pharmaceutical, and agricultural sectors face severe losses due to damaged goods and delayed shipments.
- Over 500 garment exporters reportedly had consignments stored in the affected cargo area.
- Industry leaders from BGMEA, BKMEA, and IAEB are assessing the scale of losses.
- Exporters fear order cancellations, air freight cost surges, and forced discounts from buyers.
- Damage includes both direct losses and indirect disruptions to global supply chains.
Though the exact extent of direct damage from the devastating fire at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s air cargo complex in Dhaka is yet to be determined, industry insiders fear that the incident could have a massive ripple effect on the nation’s import and export activities — with losses potentially exceeding $1 billion.
Trade Leaders Express Deep Concern
Kabir Ahmed Khan, President of the International Air Express Association of Bangladesh (IAEAB), told The Business Standard,
“It’s too early to estimate the direct losses. But the overall impact – both direct and indirect – on imports and exports could exceed $1 billion.”
Echoing this, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Executive President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and a prominent ready-made garment exporter, said,
“We fear export losses could cross $1 billion.”
Losses Beyond Direct Damage
Ehsan explained that the total losses include not only the direct damages caused by the fire but also the indirect financial consequences such as:
- Order cancellations due to delayed raw material supplies.
- High air freight costs often several times the usual rate.
- Discounts forced by buyers for delayed deliveries.
- Failure to confirm orders when sample deliveries are disrupted.
He added that the cargo village warehouses contained raw materials for garments, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and other import sectors.
“The value of individual items may be low, but collectively they represent exports worth millions of dollars.”
Small Losses, Massive Impact
Ehsan highlighted how even a small loss can disrupt major export operations,
“For example, I may have lost accessories worth only $2,000, but that could stall exports worth around $200,000. These items are imported by air because they’re urgently needed. If they’re destroyed, re-importing them will take time – and I may have to ship by air again, which costs half the product’s value. Otherwise, the buyer might demand a 50% discount. Small businesses can’t recover from such losses.”
Garment Sector Hit Hard
Md Shehab Udduza Chowdhury, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), shared similar worries regarding the potential export crisis. Officials from the IAEAB revealed that one-third of all import and export goods passing through air cargo are from the apparel and textile sector, emphasizing how deeply the fire has affected the nation’s top export industry.
Currently, more than 60 international air courier services operate in Bangladesh, most of which use this cargo hub for shipment handling.
Read more: Fire at Airport: Scout Volunteers Denied Water at Airport Canteen Amid Price Hike
BGMEA Begins Damage Assessment
Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, President of the BGMEA, said that the association has begun assessing the situation. He told The Business Standard,
“On Saturday we emailed all our members, asking them to report what goods they had stored in air cargo.”
He admitted that it was too early to determine the total value of the loss. Babu himself had imported accessories and machinery stored in the area, but he was unsure whether his consignments were safe. He said,
“If those shipments don’t arrive on time, I could face heavy export losses.”
Exporters’ Firsthand Accounts of Loss
Emran Ahmed, Managing Director of Zemtex Linkage Industries Ltd, an export-oriented garment manufacturer, reported severe losses. He said,
“I had about 40 kg of lace accessories imported from India stored at the cargo village. My C&F agent told me there’s a 98% chance they were burned. The fire started in the courier section, where my goods were.”
He added,
“I had imported the accessories by air to meet an urgent shipment worth $162,000 in exports. That shipment will probably be cancelled, as I had already failed to meet the export date on the 30th,”
A $40 Billion Industry at Risk
Last year, Bangladesh’s garment exports totaled nearly $40 billion — a sector that heavily relies on timely air shipments for accessories, samples, and small consignments.
The Cargo Village primarily handles lightweight machinery, electronics, garments, and raw materials meaning the impact of this fire is not limited to one sector but spans multiple industries.
Pharmaceutical Sector Also Suffers
According to media reports, a pharmaceutical company representative stated that about $75,000 worth of chemical ingredients had been destroyed. He said,
“I tried to clear the goods on Thursday but couldn’t. They were scheduled for release on Sunday – but everything’s gone now,”
Source: TBS
