Dwaipayan Barua

Pragmatism was the order of the day when the finance division sat down to draft the development budget for fiscal 2021-22.

Operations and navigation at the Port of Colombo resumed yesterday following a two-day hiatus for ongoing political unrest in Sri Lanka, albeit bringing temporary relief to Bangladesh’s exporters, freight forwarders and shipping firms.

Import load containers have piled up at the Chattogram port as importers did not secure their consignments due to the Eid holidays when factories were closed and vehicular movement was thin.

It appears normal service will resume with fiscal 2022-23’s budget, which will see the return of double-digit growth in size -- a practice introduced by former finance minister AMA Muhith.

Acute container congestion may soon hit the Chattogram port if the importers do not get their containers delivered within a few days, the officials said.

Untimely loading and unloading of containers has congested Chattogram port, the country’s premier seaport, with container vessels, which remain anchored due to the disruption.

Following the success of the first direct container shipping service between Chattogram and Italy launched in February this year, several European logistics providers have taken the initiative to commence similar services in order to get rid of the long delays in transporting cargo on the current routes using transhipment ports.

Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Rejaul Karim then took the initiative as per which the final competition took place on a makeshift stage on the road beside Laldighi Maidan on due time, Baishakh 12 or April 25.

Another direct container shipping service between Chattogram and two European ports is going to be introduced next month while initiatives are underway for launching direct services connecting a few more destinations in the European Union (EU).

A Singapore-bound container vessel has remained stranded in the Bay of Bengal for the last seven days on sustaining damage in a collision with an oil tanker, leading to uncertainties over shipment of its cargo.

The government has set an ambitious economic growth target of 7.5 per cent for the next fiscal year although the country faces new headwinds owing to higher prices of commodities globally and is still recovering from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank yesterday advised the government to reconsider its decision to dip into the foreign exchange reserves for development projects given the elevated balance of payment deficit and the need for exchange rate flexibility.

Bangladesh is not at risk of the crisis that Sri Lanka is currently facing, but the country needs to be cautious and learn from the experiences of the island nation, said Hans Timmer, chief economist of the World Bank for South Asia.

A new weekly China-Bangladesh container vessel service will make its debut in the last week of this month, creating an opportunity to quicken the country’s import and export trade.

Bangladesh’s debt service to revenue ratio rocketed to 81.2 per cent in the last fiscal year amid lower tax collection and higher borrowing, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Pacific Jeans Group, one of the fastest-growing garment exporters in Bangladesh, could rake in $500 million in export earnings in the current fiscal year as its apparel shipment grows steadily.

The current account deficit in Bangladesh is expected to widen to 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal year from 0.9 per cent a year ago because of escalating imports and a decline in remittance.

The World Bank has extended a $250 million financing to Bangladesh in budgetary support after the country has moved to bring in fiscal and financial reforms to strengthen policies to sustain growth and enhance resilience to future shocks.

Container storage rent at the Chattogram port from tomorrow could quadrupled for stays of excessive periods as Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) looks to force importers to promptly take deliveries and free up space.

A section of traders is cashing in on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to hike  prices of essentials that were already becoming costlier, market  insiders said.