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Exports

Trade Halted: Teknaf Land Port Shutdown Causes Millions in Losses

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

For nearly four months, the operation of Teknaf Land Port in Cox's Bazar has been suspended, bringing immense trouble to hundreds of traders involved in export-import activities. The port's closure has resulted in the storage of export-import goods worth crores of taka rotting in warehouses, causing significant losses to the government and thousands of port-dependent workers. The situation has left traders and workers facing dire consequences, including financial struggles and unemployment.

Key Takeaways:

  • Over 1,500 port-dependent workers have been unemployed for four months, struggling to make a daily living and facing potential starvation.
  • Export-import goods worth crores of taka, including cement and potatoes, have been destroyed due to the lack of consent from the Arakan Army, the occupier of Rakhine State.
  • The port has not received any revenue in the past four months, resulting in losses of Tk 6.4 billion (Tk640 crore) in the fiscal year 2022-23, Tk 4.04 billion (Tk404 crore) in the FY 2023-24, and Tk 1.1 billion (Tk110 crore) in the FY 2024-25 combined.
  • Port traders claim that cement and potatoes worth crores of taka have been destroyed, resulting in a loss of about half a crore taka.
  • The shutdown has caused financial losses for hundreds of importers and exporters, with some goods stuck in the port for months.
  • The border trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar was introduced in 1995 to discourage smuggling on the border.

Statistics:

  • 1,500 port-dependent workers are unemployed due to the port's closure.
  • Tk 6.4 billion (Tk640 crore), Tk 4.04 billion (Tk404 crore), and Tk 1.1 billion (Tk110 crore) in revenue have not been collected in the last four months.
  • Half a crore taka has been lost due to the destruction of cement and potatoes.
  • Over four months, the port has not received any revenue.

Sources:

  • Mohammad Ullah, agency representative, quoted in the article.
  • Port trader Md Abdullah, quoted in the article.
  • Port worker Sardar Alam, quoted in the article.
  • Teknaf Land Port Revenue Officer Md. Sohel Uddin, quoted in the article.
  • Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Abu Morshed Chowdhury, quoted in the article.

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