ICDs increase container handling charges by 9.85% after fuel price hike

Inland Container Depots (ICDs), which handle all of the country’s containerised export cargo and 65% of imports, have increased container handling charges by 9.85% as a fuel surcharge following the latest fuel price hike.
After the government raised diesel prices by 17.4% from Monday, the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) issued a notice asking its members to inform their clients of the revised charges from the same day.
According to the notice, the additional cost will apply to empty container transportation and haulage charges to and from Chattogram Port, ICDs and Patenga Container Terminal. It will also cover empty container lift-on and lift-off, export goods stuffing and handling package, export loaded container VGM and import goods delivery package charges.
BICDA Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder told the Daily Sun that the 9.85% increase was necessary to offset higher operational costs following the diesel price hike.
“There is no alternative but to increase charges to keep the operations running smoothly,” he said.
Earlier, BICDA raised the outbound cargo and container handling tariff by 8.5% at 21 depots from April, drawing widespread resentment from exporters and trade bodies.
Sector insiders fear the rise in logistics costs will further erode Bangladesh’s global competitiveness in import-export trade, which is already under strain from higher freight rates and crises linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Chattogram port’s berth, ship-handling and terminal operators have sought an adjustment of their rates to tackle the impact of the fuel price hike.
In a letter to the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) chairman on Monday, Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, president of the Berth Operators, Ship Handling Operators and Terminal Operators Owners Association, said diesel cost Tk80 a litre when the tender was submitted on 19 January 2022. The price has now risen to Tk135, a 69% increase.
“The situation is highly unusual. As a result, our member berth operators are finding it extremely difficult to continue berth operations while dealing with the financial pressure,” he wrote.
The association said the CPA was well aware that increased fuel costs had already been adjusted across different sectors of the country.
“As container handling operations are entirely dependent on transportation, we request you to take immediate and necessary measures to increase the rates by adjusting with the current fuel price hike,” the letter said.
The government has raised the prices of all four major petroleum products by Tk20 a litre from Monday. Diesel now costs Tk135 a litre, while kerosene, petrol and octane cost Tk155, Tk160 and Tk165 respectively.