Container Shipping to and from Bangladesh

Bangladesh is highly import-dominated by the Far East, with significant commodities being fabrics and accessories, foodstuff, electronics etc. At the same time, some part of Bangladesh’s economic growth continues to be driven by exports from textiles, jute products and seafood sectors.

Twill offers first-class ocean and inland transportation from Bangladesh. Check our platform to find schedules and rates instantly and ship your goods worldwide.

The primary commodities for exports are textiles like knitwear, garments, jute products, and leather goods.

The textile and clothing industries provide a single source of growth in Bangladesh's rapidly developing economy. Exports of textiles and garments are the principal source of foreign exchange earnings. By 2002 exports of textiles, clothing, and ready-made garments (RMG) accounted for 77% of Bangladesh's total merchandise exports.

Other export goods are fishes and shrimps, while fabrics and accessories, foodstuff, electronics etc., are traded as import commodities.

To ship containers from or to Bangladesh, Twill operates mainly from the three major ports of Bangladesh:

1. Chittagong is the biggest seaport that provides a gateway for most cargo moving out of Bangladesh. There are other warehousing facilities in and around Chittagong, providing the infrastructure required for easy shipping.

2. Dhaka is the major inland Inland Container Depot (ICD) location, a container storage facility situated in the hinterlands, away from any major port. It connects via rail to Chittagong.

3. Mongla is the second-largest seaport used mainly for imports, reefers and some dry cargo.

There are also two river terminals of Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL) and Pangaon, which connect to Chittagong for exports/imports to the rest of the world.

The transit time for shipping containers to or from Bangladesh depends on the shipping routes and other factors – including the vessel schedule, whether containers need to be connected to other vessels on their journey and how many calling ports there are on the route.

Twill, supercharged by Maersk, offers market-leading transit times for Bangladesh from all its key markets – like the United States, Germany, the UK or Africa – and many more destinations.

Here are a few transit times for popular routes to and from Bangladesh on average:

• The transit time from Chittagong to Felixstowe (UK) can take up to 33 days

• The transit time from Chittagong to Algeciras (Spain) can take up to 30 days

• The transit time from Chittagong to Newark (USA) can take up to 33 days

The rainy season ranging from June to August is especially very crucial for jute and fish traders. Also, during Pre Eid, there is a huge rush to move out cargo from Bangladesh.

As the season peaks and the demand increases, we recommend you, our customers, proactively plan your container shipments by checking the schedules and prices on our platform. Make sure to place your booking well in advance for imports and exports.

To move the cargo seamlessly, it’s essential to have efficient management of custom clearances and compliances. Our end-to-end logistics services ensure the complexities of border clearance, including transhipment, documentation and customs clearance, are navigated with ease through our customised local expertise in Bangladesh. We follow a crisp step-by-step process mentioned below to execute this both for imports and exports.

Ocean Import Clearance Process:

1. Receive all documents per Letter of Credit (L/C), including POA with Bank authorisation from the consignee/notify party

2. The broker will check with the carrier/forwarder for shipment arrival information. The manifest should match the Bill of Lading (BOL)

3. The broker will key the information into the Asycuda customs system to produce the bill of entry.

4. Broker to submit all documents to Customs for inspection

5. Customs will inspect the goods

6. Inspection is complete, and customs will transfer the documents with the inspection report to the duty assessment team.

7. The assessment is complete when duty/taxes are paid through a bank pay order.

8. Collect release order from Customs

9. Collect Delivery order from the carrier

10. Submit all documents to the port authority for retrieval of container

11. Pay all port charges through bank pay order

12. Goods released and delivered to the consignee

Ocean Export Clearance Process

1. The broker submits documents to Customs for entry

2. Assessment by Customs office

3. Physical examination by Customs

4. Broker collect examination report from Customs

5. The broker submits report & customs approved docs to Carriers/Forwarders

6. Carriers submit Cargo Manifest to Customs Authority

7. The broker submits all approved customs docs to Customs for EXP release

8. The broker submits EXP release & other related docs to Shipper

According to the regulations and compliances of Bangladesh, there are some restrictions on a few commodities for cross border and inter-state trade. However, this list is subject to change basis government policies.

For easy reference, we have listed down such commodities where special restrictions are imposed as of now:

• Maps, charts and geographical globes that do not indicate the territory of Bangladesh in accordance with the maps published by the Department of Survey, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

• Horror comics, obscene and subversive literature including pamphlets, posters, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, films, gramophone records and audio and video cassette tapes etc.

• Books, newspapers, periodicals, documents and other papers, posters, photographs, films, gramophone records, audio and video cassettes, tapes etc., containing matters likely to outrange the religious feelings and beliefs of any class of the citizens of Bangladesh.

• Unless otherwise specified in this order, goods of secondary or sub-standard quality or below–standard or old, used, reconditioned goods or factory rejects, and goods of job-lot/stock-lot.

• Reconditioned office equipment, photocopier, type-writer machine, telex, phone, and fax, old computer, old computer accessories, old electronic items

• Goods (including their containers) bearing any words or inscriptions of a religious connotation the use or disposal of which may injure the religious feelings and beliefs of any class of the citizens of Bangladesh

You can find further information about these special restrictions on the website of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh.

Our customs clearance experts in Bangladesh help shippers, both new and experienced understand the duties they have to pay or the exemptions they may be entitled to, helping make the import and export process smooth and easy. Find out more about our Customs Clearance services here.