A large fire at the import cargo complex of Dhaka airport has caused significant damage to goods and materials belonging to key garment exporters, with losses and impacts on trade potentially amounting to millions of dollars, according to industry leaders on Sunday.
The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon in the import section of the airport's cargo village, leading to a temporary suspension of flights. On Sunday, smoke continued to billow from the remains of the facility as firefighters and airport officials assessed the damage.
The blaze destroyed storage areas containing imported raw materials, ready-to-export apparel, and product samples — all vital to Bangladesh's $47 billion garment industry.
"This incident has caused severe damage to the country's export trade, particularly in the garment sector," said Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
"High-value goods and urgent air shipments have been destroyed, including garments prepared for shipment, raw materials for production, and, most importantly, product samples."
He cautioned that the loss of these samples could jeopardise future business. "These samples are crucial for securing new buyers and expanding orders. Losing them means our members may miss out on future opportunities," he added.
BGMEA has started collecting information from affected exporters to assess the scale of the losses. "We have asked all members to submit detailed lists of damaged goods, and an online portal has been launched to speed up the data collection," Khan said.
The airport cargo village is one of Bangladesh's busiest logistics hubs, handling over 600 metric tons of dry cargo daily, a figure that doubles during the peak season from October to December.
"Every day, around 200 to 250 factories send their products by air," Khan explained. "Given the scale, the financial impact is substantial."
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and an investigation is underway.
This incident marks the third major fire in Bangladesh this week. On Tuesday, a fire at a garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Dhaka claimed at least 16 lives and injured others. On Thursday, another fire destroyed a seven-storey garment factory building in an export processing zone in Chittagong.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of apparel after China. The sector, which supplies major global retailers such as Walmart, H&M, and Gap, employs around 4 million workers and generates approximately $40 billion annually — more than a tenth of the country’s GDP.
The fire, which occurred during the peak export season, is expected to cause delays in shipments and present further challenges in meeting international delivery deadlines.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at ...
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, met on 14 October to discuss bilateral ties and key regional and inte...
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Thousands of young Georgians leave the country each year in search of better economic opportunities, with many moving west. As questions grow over Georgia’s European path, AnewZ spoke to people who have emigrated about what it would take for them to return.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
A 62-year-old man died on Wednesday after floodwaters swept his car into the sea on the Greek island of Rhodes, as torrential rain flooded roads, stranded vehicles and disrupted transport across the island.
A failure by the U.S. and Iran to reach an agreement on a UN-backed fertiliser shipping plan for the Strait of Hormuz within weeks could trigger a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, a senior UN official has warned.
Pope Leo has been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer, after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican says the tumour was detected during a routine health check, but its stage and whether it has spread remain unknown.
Greek students braved heavy rain to pitch tents outside parliament in Athens on Tuesday, demanding affordable housing and more education funding as rising living costs put university places beyond the reach of some students.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment