The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) has warned that high costs, weak coordination and slow implementation of policies are hurting trade competitiveness at a time when Bangladesh is chasing bigger export and investment goals.
The apex body made delivered this warning at a discussion titled “Framing the Logistics Sector Landscape: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Way Forward,” held at The Westin Dhaka on Tuesday.
Members of logistics sector and representatives from RMG, freight forwarding, inland container depots, shipping lines, airlines, courier services and development partners took part in the discussion.
Officials from the US Embassy in Dhaka, including Commercial Counselor Paul Frost and Agricultural Attaché Erin Covert, also joined the roundtable.
“Logistics quietly underpins daily life, supply chains and economic activity, yet remains poorly understood at home and lags behind regional peers”, Syed Ershad Ahmed, President of AmCham Bangladesh said noting that Bangladesh must close its knowledge and capacity gaps to support rising trade and investment.
“Global logistics is being reshaped fast by AI and automation, decarbonization, geopolitics, regionalization and the push for resilient supply chains”, he said.
M. Masrur Reaz, Chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh explained that logistics directly determines trade competitiveness through cost reduction, speed and efficiency. He contrasted conventional cargo terminals with the cargo village concept and warned that disruptions like the Chattogram port labor strike can paralyze the economy.
“Port capacity and logistics infrastructure must expand to support a projected GDP of USD 760 billion by 2030. merely one per cent cut in logistics costs could lift exports by around 7 per cent as Bangladesh approaches LDC graduation”, Masrur Reaz said noting that projects such as the Matarbari Deep Sea Port, Bay Container Terminal and the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he said, offer long-term opportunities.
Mahbubul Anam, Managing Director of CF Global, said air logistics and express courier services face high costs and capacity constraints, with Dhaka airport logistics costs 20–25 per cent higher than road transport.
He stressed stronger public–private coordination, better equipment and planning, and noted the absence of direct cargo flights to the United States despite existing EU clearance facilities.
Nusrat Nahid Babi, Senior Transport Specialist for South Asia at the World Bank, said reform momentum since 2022 must be reaffirmed by the new government through clear priorities. She outlined phased reforms covering policy simplification, multimodal connectivity, skills, digitalization and investment, starting with operationalising the National Logistics Policy 2025 and forming a Logistics Division under the PMO.
The discussion repeatedly returned to execution. Md. Moinul Huq, Citi Country Officer of Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh, urged customs authorities to operationalise the Customs Act 2023, expand electronic documentation and payments, and reduce heavy reliance on letters of credit.
Participants also flagged overdependence on RMG exports, weak digital adoption, the need for multimodal transport, cold-chain expansion and AI-enabled cargo visibility to boost resilience and competitiveness.
