SAPL began handling grain, rice, and maize cargoes from India in 2021 and had a positive response from traders.
“This new service by SAPL Muktarpur Terminal comes at a time when Bangladeshi raw cotton importers are finding it difficult to source raw cotton from traditional sources such as Central Asia, Brazil, the United States, and West Africa due to supply chain disruptions, container shortages, and historically high freight rates. As a result, in recent years, the market demand for raw cotton from India has skyrocketed “Summit Alliance Port’s managing director, Jowher Rizvi, stated.
He also stated that they are assisting the sectors by providing alternative and environmentally friendly sources while avoiding typical land port congestion.
Due to a considerable increase in demand for yarn and fabrics from domestic RMG exporters, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton bales weighing roughly 1.85 million MT in 2021, and this figure is expected to reach 9 million bales this year.
The inland river route from Kolkata to Muktarpur offers unrivalled year-round safe passage for raw cotton cargo, which is a guaranteed and time-bound option not available via the typical sea route for container shipments or via land ports.
