Bangladeshi Garment Exporters Route to Maldives | Clothing exporters prefer cheaper Maldives, bypassing Dhaka and Indian airports | Shipping via Maldives vs Dhaka

Bypassing traditional air travel routes through India or Bangladesh.Garment exporters have found the Maldives to be a cheaper and faster route.

Exporters said air freight through the Indian Ocean island nation, about 2,800 km from Dhaka, saved them nearly a dollar a kilogram in shipping costs to European countries.

They said traditional air travel routes via Dhaka, Kolkata, Colombo or Singapore had become either too expensive or too slow.
The RMG industry faced a significant backlog after the student protests in July and August brought everything to a standstill.

Shipping costs via Dhaka rose to $6.30-$6.50 per kg and have now dropped to $3.80-$4.10 per kg for Europe.
That’s when Bangladeshi exporters stumbled upon a new route through the Maldives.

Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Association of Freight Forwarders (BAFFA), said the Maldives airport route emerged almost organically as shipping costs on other routes were too high. There was a sudden surge in demand for transportation as factories resumed production after order was restored. when the provisional government came to power.

Demand for dry cargo shipments at Dhaka airport has nearly doubled to 800-900 tonnes from the usual 400-450 tonnes per day.
Exporters were unable to ship goods by sea using Chattogram also because the student movement brought the port, as well as much of the country, to a standstill in July and August. The resulting backlog also had to be cleared quickly once operations resumed as exporters desperately tried to meet looming deadlines, many of which were presumably extended due to the political situation.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka is costly for exporters due to high operating costs, fees and operational risks.

Dhaka Airport is also suffering from a shortage of essential equipment such as scanning devices and explosive detection systems (EDS). In addition, there are not enough airlines to export goods to Dhaka.

In contrast, local exporters say shipping through the Maldives is faster and costs only $3-$3.50 per kg.