The first bonded, cross-border, land-air transshipment from Bangladesh flew out of the Indian airport of Kolkata January 3, 2019. The Expo Freight Limited (EFL) offices in Bangladesh and India worked jointly to handle the cargo of apparel.
Figure: Bilateral trade between the two neighboring nations comes into effect.
According to a press release of Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, EFL introduced a tailor-made logistics solution to handle such cargo transshipments between the two neighboring countries.
The cargo, weighing 4.1 tons, was carried by Bangladeshi trucks to the Benapole land port, where it was loaded on to Indian trucks. The Indian trucks carried the goods to the Kolkata airport and finally, it was air freighted to reach the terminal destination in Europe within the specified time window.
If we consider time and cost of apparel shipment to Europe by using Kolkata airport, it will not much effective. Rather we should use our own airport for shipment, Kolkata can be used as an alternative.
The facilitation of this transshipment is a result that originated from the signing of the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal) agreement in 2016, which attempts to increase co-operation between the countries.
Through this trial initiative, Kolkata turned out to be a strategic and useful transshipment doorway to Bangladesh for inbound and outbound air transportation.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EFL Group S. Senthilnathan said, "We are proud to enrich our ties with Bangladesh through this movement and alternative solutions of this nature will enable us to enhance efficiencies of our logistics operations to promote international trade."
Meanwhile, EFL is considering this move as a breakthrough that would further prove to be instrumental in positively impacting business growth beyond borders.
It is noted that, at the Dhaka airport; every day more than 1,000 tons of goods, mostly garment items, are stored for air shipment, but airlines can carry 700 tons.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Siddiqur Rahman, the lead time on exports from Dhaka is higher than some of the country's competitors because of geographical location. Plus, it takes more time to release goods from the main airport in Dhaka.
Md. Shahidul Haque Mukul, Director, BGMEA & Managing Director, Adams Apparels Ltd, expressed, “If we consider time and cost of apparel shipment to Europe by using Kolkata airport, it will not much effective. Rather we should use our own airport for shipment, Kolkata can be used as an alternative.”
