Traders who import goods from Myanmar through Teknaf land port have become hostage to a powerful syndicate at the trade gateway on the southeastern border of the country. A report published in a national daily on Friday said the port users are being forced to pay extra at every stage of the imports, from hiring workers to loading goods from boats to trucks, and during quarantine tests, submission of bill of entry at customs and transportation. But it is the retail consumers who ultimately bear the additional costs that are passed on to them.
As reported, the syndicate charges an extra Tk 13,000 per truck for transporting goods, Tk 6,000 as labour cost, and Tk 7,000 as port evening service charge. As a result, they increase cost per tonne of kitchen items by more than Tk 2,000. About 25,000 tonnes of onions were imported from Myanmar in October. The price of onion is Tk 26 per kg but it has to be sold at Tk 35-40 a kg because of the additional costs. The traders said that they are not getting any remedy even after raising the issue with the port operator and the authorities. They say the transportation cost of a 13-tonne truck from Teknaf to Dhaka is Tk 27,000, but they have to pay Tk 40,000. The cost of loading goods on a truck is usually Tk 2,000, but labour suppliers charge an additional Tk 8,000.
Worse still, when a cargo truck leaves the port after 7:00 pm, the port operator realises Tk 7,000 from the importers in the name of evening service charge. The operator deliberately delays the unloading to collect the fee, the users allege. Member (traffic) of Bangladesh Land Port Authority, has been quoted to have said the authority was unaware of the irregularities. Bangladesh has a total of 24 land customs stations and land ports, 12 of which are now operational. Teknaf land port is one of them. The anarchy in the operation of the land port is definitely a disincentive for importers and exporters who use it and must be done away with.
