Bangladeshi garment makers are facing up to using costly airfreight amid spiking customer demand after curfews hindered ocean transport – but there is an unwillingness from buyers to cover the additional costs.
And sources report that even customers willing to use airfreight are demanding price cuts of between 15% and 20%.
Most transport services have been massively affected by the government-imposed curfew and internet blackouts that followed mass student protests across the country this month.
Roughly, 3,000 tonnes of air cargo could not be sent. Arshad Jamal Dipu, VP of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), claimed he had to bring back 80,000 pieces to Dhaka from Chittagong port depots.
“Until this Sunday my company, Tusuka Group, spent some Tk320m to send goods by aircraft after failing to send them by ship in time,” said Mr Dipu, its chairman.
Shovon Islam, MD, Sparrow Group of Industries, said he had also neen troubled by failed shipments in the past week, noting: “Although 40% of goods got extra time from the buyers, at the same time they are asking to send the remaining 60% by air.”
On Monday, the BGMEA held a meeting with global apparel buyers requesting there not be any ‘system-generated’ discounts for delayed shipments which would reduce their earnings.
Exporters say a discount of 5%-10% is automatically generated by the systems of major buyers if there is a 15-day or more delay in making shipments.