The UK ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka is not going to affect the exports of fruits and vegetables as the suppliers are already using non-direct flights in carrying the products, say the insiders.
However, the exporters feared that if the ban continued for long, the country’s exports of vegetables and other agricultural products would be in trouble.
Only Biman Bangladesh Airlines operated direct cargo flights from Dhaka to the United Kingdom while other carriers run non-direct flights. The national airlines operated four weekly flights carrying cargo before the ban.
“We usually preferred other carriers (using indirect routes) to Biman in shipping our products (fruits and vegetables) due to higher charges of the direct flights. As the ban is for direct air cargo only, our exports are not going to be affected,” said Mohammad Monsur, secretary general of Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association.
An average of 30-35 tonne of vegetables and other agricultural products are airshipped daily from Bangladesh to different destinations, and 40% of them to the UK market.
A web post of the UK government on March 8 said: “As part of a set of interim measures, cargo will not be allowed on direct flights from Dhaka to the UK until further notice.” It said the Shahjalal International Airport still fell short of international security standards, which prompted the UK authorities to take the decision.
The post added: “Airlines carrying cargo between Bangladesh and the UK on indirect routes are being asked to ensure it is re-screened before its final leg into the UK.”
On December 19 last year, Australia also imposed a ban order on air cargo from Bangladesh due to security concerns.
The UK ban has come as bane for the country’s main export products – the readymade garment – the exporters of which choose direct flights to meet supply deadline and urgency.
“It will be a big problem for our export sector if we cannot meet deal with the crisis immediately and successfully,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh.
When asked if they were planning indirect flights under the current situation, BGMEA vice president Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, said they could go for indirect flights, but that might fail to meet the RMG buyers’ requirement of timely supply.
The failure to supply products within deadline could even lead to cancellation of orders and the exporters would face losses, he added.
According to Export Promotion Bureau data, during July-February period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $2.46bn from exports to the UK, of which, $2.27bn were RMG products and $7.5m vegetables and other agricultural goods.
Last fiscal year, Bangladesh exported garment items of $3.23bn to the UK.