United News of Bangladesh

Exporter associations have begun the process of assessing damages caused by the fire at the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The organisations have directed their member companies to prepare detailed lists of their damaged goods in a prescribed format. According to association officials, a clearer estimate of the total volume of affected goods and the extent of financial losses is expected within the next one to two days. A delegation from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will visit the airport’s cargo village today (Sunday) to identify and evaluate the damages. Masud Karim, Chairman of the BGMEA Public Relations Committee, told UNB that a BGMEA team will visit the site at noon. Gusty weather hinders firefighting efforts: Fire Service DG Meanwhile, exporters are expressing increasing concerns over the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of operations at the cargo village. Business leaders have said that any prolonged suspension of airport activities will have a serious impact not only on passenger transport but also on the country’s crucial export sector. Key export items transported by air from Bangladesh include ready-made garments (RMG), perishable goods such as vegetables, fruits and betel leaves, along with various other products and important documents handled by international courier services. Businesses in these sectors are considered most at risk. BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said, “We do not have any specific information at this moment about the quantity of goods damaged. If it reopens quickly, the losses will be less. If it remains closed for a longer period, the losses will be greater." S M Jahangir Hossain, President of the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters’ Association (BFVAPEA), said, “Our shipments to various destinations depend on the availability of space on the aircraft. Fire at Shahjalal Airport's cargo village brought under control after 7 hours “So, on days when we get more space, we can send more goods. We are currently investigating how much products our members had there today,” he added.    

Despite drives by police, Rab and the Fisheries Department in Bagerhat over the past few years to stop adulteration of shrimp, the unscrupulous practices of dishonest traders continue unabated. Shrimps from Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts are exported to several countries. Injecting jelly, water, rice starch, and harmful substances into shrimps to increase their weight and earn extra profits are causing concern among exporters and consumers. Shrimp exporters fear they may lose the overseas markets if shrimp adulteration continues. Shrimp was once the second-most exported product from Bangladesh but in the last few years it failed to hold up against the growing global competition and currently holds the seventh position among top exported goods from Bangladesh. Read more: Over 1000 kg shrimps injected with jelly seized in Chandpur In the last six months (July-December), mobile courts in Bagerhat seized some 1,660 kg of shrimp while traders were injecting jelly-like substances into them. Executive magistrates and the Bagerhat District Fisheries Office (DFO) conducted 17 mobile court drives in various areas of the district, including Bagerhat Sadar, Fakirhat, Mollahat, Chitalmari, Rampal, and Mongla during the period.

Exporters will get Tk102 against a US dollar to repatriate their export income in Bangladesh. The Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) and Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association (BAFEDA) announced the new dollar rate for exporters effective Monday. This is up by one taka from the earlier rate of Tk. 101 per dollar. Read more: FBCCI seeks dollars from reserves to import commodities for Ramadan The leaders of ABB and BAFEDA held a meeting on Sunday night to determine the price of the dollar. It decided to increase the rate for export income, but the price of the dollar was kept unchanged in the case of payment of expatriate income and import duties. As per the new decision, exporters will get Tk1.0 more against each dollar. And in terms of expatriate income, the dollar price has been kept unchanged at Tk 107. Apart from this, the value of the dollar will be Tk 0.50 more than the average of expatriate and export earnings in terms of payment of import duties. Read more: Remittance: Bangladesh Bank tells banks to provide Tk 107 per dollar At present, the price of the dollar in expatriate income is Tk107 and that for export income is Tk102. As a result, the average of expatriate and export income is Tk104.5. Adding Tk0.50 to this average will be Tk105 per dollar of import bills. The greenback has been in short supply since March last year following Russia-Ukraine war that jolted global economy. Read More: No dollar crisis in banks from next month: Salman F Rahman

The relaxation of loan conditions for the state-owned commercial banks (SCBs), for the green transformation fund (GTF), will help the private sector exporters gain competitive advantages, ensure environmental compliance, and be sustainable, according to Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD).   The Bangladesh Bank manages the GTF of $200 million and €200 million. The fund is intended to facilitate access to financing in foreign exchange by all manufacturers and exporters of all sectors to facilitate green or environment-friendly initiatives and harness green transformation. According to the central bank, $89.69 million has been disbursed from the GTF so far. The Bangladesh Bank has relaxed two conditions for the SCBs to participate in the GTF. Firstly, the SCBs with more than 10% non-performing loans will be able to borrow from the GTF. Secondly, the SCBs that have shortfalls in loan or investment provision, capital and liquidity will also be eligible to borrow from this fund. READ: Exporters may transfer up to 75 pc of foreign employees’ remunerations from ERQ accounts  Through the 7th Financial Sector Development Working Committee meeting in 2019 and the 3rd Sustainability and Green Growth Working Committee meeting in 2021, BUILD suggested that the Bangladesh Bank relax the loan policy for the SCBs for the GTF as many textile and non-textile firms are the clients of these banks. The public-private dialogue platform hopes that the loan policy relaxation for the SCBs will expedite more loan disbursement in future.   READ: Govt cuts source tax on exports again; RMG exporters to get relief 

Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German-headquartered trade finance provider TradeWind GmbH on Wednesday to offer secure and innovative trade finance solutions.