A large hearth at the import cargo complicated of Dhaka airport has induced in depth injury to items and supplies belonging to main garment exporters, with losses and impacts on commerce prone to run into hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, trade leaders stated on Sunday.
The blaze broke out on Saturday afternoon within the import part of the airport’s cargo village, forcing a short lived suspension of flights. Smoke continued to rise from the charred stays of the ability on Sunday as firefighters and airport officers assessed the injury.
The hearth gutted storage areas used for imported uncooked supplies, ready-to-export attire, and product samples — all important to Bangladesh’s $47 billion garment trade.
“This incident has caused serious damage to the country’s export trade, especially the garment sector,” stated Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“High-value goods and urgent air shipments have been destroyed — including garments prepared for shipment, raw materials for production, and, most importantly, product samples.”
He warned that the lack of samples may jeopardise future enterprise. “These samples are essential for securing new buyers and expanding orders. Losing them means our members may miss out on future opportunities,” he added.
Essential Samples Burned in Fire
BGMEA has begun gathering info from affected exporters to find out the extent of the losses. “We have asked all members to submit detailed lists of damaged goods, and an online portal has been launched to speed up data collection,” Khan added.
The airport cargo village is certainly one of Bangladesh’s busiest logistics hubs, dealing with greater than 600 metric tons of dry cargo each day — a determine that doubles through the October to December peak season.
“Every day, around 200 to 250 factories send their products by air,” Khan stated. “Given that scale, the financial impact is significant.”
The explanation for the blaze has not but been decided, and an investigation is underway.
The incident marks the third main hearth reported in Bangladesh this week. A fireplace on Tuesday at a garment manufacturing unit and an adjoining chemical warehouse in Dhaka killed at least 16 folks and injured others. On Thursday, one other burned down a seven-storey garment manufacturing unit constructing in an export processing zone in Chittagong.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of attire after China. The sector, which provides main international retailers reminiscent of Walmart, H&M, and Gap, employs about 4 million staff and generates round $40 billion a 12 months — greater than a tenth of the nation’s GDP.
The hearth, which struck through the peak export season, is predicted to delay shipments and pose further challenges in assembly worldwide supply deadlines.
By Ruma Paul; Editor: Louise Heavens
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