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The exporters of the country on Monday expressed their concern on production and export delay and supply disruptions following the devastating fire at the cargo village of Dhaka›s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

They also said that the fire, erupted around 2:30pm on Saturday which raged the cargo village near gate no 8 of the HSIA, would be a warning sign for both export-oriented and import-dependent local businesses.

About 37 units of fire services, army, navy, air force, and civil aviation worked to bring the fire under control at about 10:00pm on the day, which was completely doused on Sunday. 

A press conference was organised in this connection by the Exporters Association of Bangladesh at a hotel in the capital on Monday with business leaders from nearly all major trade bodies in attendance.

The businesses also said that the foreign buyers were also ‘worried’ regarding the fire.

Mohammad Hatem, president of the association, said that the recent fire at the cargo village of the HSIA has become a big warning sign for the business community and export-oriented industries.

‘We’re alarmed and our foreign buyers are also anxious regarding the fire at one of the most important infrastructures of the country,’ he added. 

He also said that the fire clearly proved that the security measures at the cargo village were not effective enough, which is extremely risky in terms of goods safety.

‘It seems that the security of the airport is also at risk, though we were talking about the adequate safety measures of our products for a long time,’ he added.

Regarding the initial estimates, he said that the loss could exceed $1 billion.

‘It is difficult to immediately determine the total losses the exporters and importers incurred. The direct losses involve the goods that were burned, but the damage goes far beyond, as the destroyed raw materials would be used to produce exportable items,’ he added. 

Due to the disruptions, there are fears of losing market positions, eroding buyer confidence, and jeopardizing international trade contracts.

Zakir Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, said that they sent a letter to their 307 registered members regarding their losses.

‘So far, 32 companies reported the losses of about Tk 200 crore,’ he added.

The pharmaceutical sector import its high-value raw materials, vaccines, and insulins through air transport and keeps them at the cargo village.

‘These raw materials have been destroyed entirely, which could impact about Tk 3,000-5,000 crore worth of finished goods, along with several regulatory impacts’, he added.

He said that the local supply might also be impacted, but not right now, about 3 to six months later.

A medicine needs up to 53 types of raw materials, and we need to go through a lengthy approval process to import these from several governmental agencies. Without a single type of raw material, the entire production, supply, and export process would be hampered,’ he added.

He criticised the closure of customs house tariff collection on weekends from Thursday evening, saying that it should be open for 24 hours, may be on a smaller scale. 

He said that a number of import consignments containing temperature-oriented vaccines and insulins had been delivered to other airports through diverted flights following the accident.

He urged the government to take immediate action to clear those consignments to the respective importers.

Md Nazmul Hasan, senior vice president of the Lethergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that they primarily import footwear accessories, raw materials, and chemicals, and store them at the cargo village.

‘We are assessing the total incurred loss, and it would take some time to count it fully; however, the destruction of the raw materials would severely impact the production of the finished goods,’ he added.

Md Shahriar, president of the Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that there were raw materials and components for the garment and packaging industry, including materials for products like zippers, sewing threads, elastic, buttons, tags, cartons, and packaging.

‘So far, we have assessed our loss of about Tk 23 crore; however, our accessories are one of the major components of the country’s readymade garment industry, meaning the overall loss would be much higher for the finished products,’ he added. 

The exporters said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Customs House, and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, no one can avoid the responsibility for this fire incident.

‘CAAB is the owner of this cargo village, the customs authority is the supervisor of imported goods, and Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the handling agent,’ said Mohammad Hatem.

He also said that not one of the concerned authorities paid due attention to ensure adequate security at such a sensitive location.

‘The current warehouse management is very weak and still operated manually, along with a lengthy customs clearance process, which creates a large backlog of goods,’ he added. 

They urged the government to separately locate the warehouse for sensitive goods like chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Bangladesh Textile Mills Association president Showkat Aziz Russel demanded a speedy investigation and punishment for those authorities responsible.

‘If fire incidents occur at any factory, then the government arrests the owner by labelling him solely responsible for the fire,’ he added, asking, then why wouldn›t the government authority be responsible and face legal action?

Responding to a question, he said that due to the country’s strategic geopolitical position, many eyes are on Bangladesh.

‘There are elements of political conspiracy at play, and some forces appear to be working to tarnish Bangladesh›s image globally. Certain quarters in our neighboring country hope to advance their trade interests at the expense of ours,’ he added.

The EAB urged the government to quickly implement some steps after a full investigation into this incident and an assessment of the damage.

The steps include providing necessary instructions for the speedy settlement of insurance claims against goods damaged in the fire.

Moreover, in case of products that were not insured, a special government fund should be formed to provide compensation and assistance to the affected organisations or individuals.

They also asked to modernise and expand the cargo village, along with tightened security, and to provide a separate, modern air-conditioned warehouse for the pharmaceutical industry.

They suggested establishing a separate chemical warehouses at a safe distance and to make the warehouse management of the cargo village fully automated.

Apart from RMG, textile, pharmaceuticals, and leather sectors, businesses from fruit and vegetables, jewellery, sewing thread, frozen foods, plastic goods, electric safety, silk goods, handicrafts, craft and giftware sectors, and other related associations were also present.

Meanwhile, Nurul Islam, managing partner of Rusani Enterprise, an agent of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that 6 consignments of the power plant, weighing about 18 tonnes, burnt.

The imported products, mainly parts and machineries from Russia and other countries, were kept at cargo village six days ago, and waiting for a non-objection declaration of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.