Chinese foreign trade people reported that after July 18, communications with Bangladeshi customers were no longer stable. In addition, protesters blocked roads in various places, so no vehicles were driving on the highways, disrupting the transportation of import and export goods.
The government declared Monday to Wednesday as a national holiday, and all offices will remain closed. Mobile Internet services have been interrupted, and only broadband is available with unstable connections. Factories will remain closed until further orders are issued.
Currently, the Chittagong port is severely congested. Data shows that about 50 ships are lined up within 25 nautical miles outside Chittagong, and 41,000 TUE containers are in the port.
In recent years, Bangladesh's economy has achieved sustained rapid growth, becoming the second largest economy in South Asia and an important exporter (especially garment exporter).
However, since Bangladesh's economic development relies on export trade, the current poor global economic environment has led to a decrease in export orders and difficulties in paying workers' wages. The sudden political upheaval has cast a shadow on Bangladesh's development prospects.
In recent years, trade between China and Bangladesh has shown strong development momentum. China is Bangladesh's largest trading partner, and Bangladesh also occupies an important position in China's trade in South Asia.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade volume between China and Bangladesh reached US$23.97 billion in 2023. Among them, China's exports to Bangladesh amounted to US$22.95 billion, and the commodities imported from Bangladesh mainly included raw materials such as leather, cotton textile products and fish food. In addition, China's investment in Bangladesh is also increasing. As of the end of 2023, China's cumulative investment in Bangladesh has reached US$3.2 billion.
For foreign trade business, Bangladesh is a country with foreign exchange control and has a perennial shortage of foreign exchange. Therefore, according to the relevant regulations of the Bangladesh Central Bank on foreign exchange management, except for special circumstances, foreign payments for imports and exports must generally be made by bank letters of credit.
The current situation in Bangladesh is turbulent, and the possible direct impact is the problem of document delivery. Considering the current situation in Bangladesh, foreign trade companies need to be cautious and pay attention to risk control to avoid losses!
