Container News attempted to review PIL’s new China Chittagong Express (CCE) service, in order to assess its strategic importance to Asian trade.
Between July 2023 and July 2024, the trade dynamics between China and Bangladesh exhibited noteworthy fluctuations. China’s exports to Bangladesh marked a cargo worth decline of 7.44% from the previous year. This decrease can be attributed to evolving market demands and possibly strategic trade adjustments.
Despite the fall in exports, China’s imports from Bangladesh saw a rise of 15.2% in cargo worth, increasing from US$90.7 million to US$104 million.
During the same period, the overall bilateral trade volume reached approximately US$10.3 billion, reflecting a marginal year-on-year growth of 0.2%.
Despite global economic fluctuations, China has maintained its status as Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, which underscores the deep-seated economic interdependence between the two nations.
The Port of Chittagong, Bangladesh’s prime seaport, showed a modest increase in activity with a 5.36% growth in container handling and a 4.18% rise in cargo handling for the fiscal year 2023-24. This was achieved despite a decrease in the number of ships, which was a result of the import restrictions tied to a foreign currency reserve shortage.
Nevertheless, the increase in cargo and container throughput suggests more efficient use of port capacity, primarily through the handling of larger vessels.
At the same time, Chinese ports displayed robust growth. Notably, the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan, which are included into PIL’s CCE service, reported significant increases in container throughput.
The increase in Chinese imports from Bangladesh, particularly in light of the broader trade dynamics, suggests that there is rising demand in China for Bangladeshi products. This creates a positive environment for PIL’s new service, which could facilitate and streamline these imports by providing a direct, efficient maritime link between the two countries.
Additionally, the improved performance of the Chittagong Port in terms of cargo and container volumes underlines the potential benefits of the CCE service.
Overall, the new service, which will be operated by a consortium of vessels from Pacific International Lines (PIL), Interasia Lines and SL Shipping & Logistics, appears to be a strategic enhancement supporting Sino-Bangladeshi trade.
