Foto REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
According to industry representatives, cargoes with clothes for major fashion brands, including the owner of the Zara chain, Inditex, as well as other European sellers, are delayed at airports in Bangladesh and India, Reuters writes. The main reason is the cancelation of flights by airlines of the Gulf countries, which traditionally play a key role in the transportation of goods between South Asia and Europe.
The South Asian region has long been one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturing centers. Factories in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan produce millions of units for fast fashion brands that depend on fast logistics and regular deliveries of new collections.
Shovon Islam, a Bangladesh-based executive at Sparrow Group, said some of his shipments have been at Dhaka airport for days. The original plan was to bring the clothes to the UK via Dubai, but the closure of the region’s largest airport has disrupted those plans. The company is now trying to find alternative routes, but they are proving more difficult and expensive.
Experts note that a significant share of air cargo transportation from Bangladesh goes through the Gulf countries. Therefore, the suspension of flights of major airlines has sharply reduced the available capacity for cargo transportation.
Amid the shortage of transportation capacity, the cost of air freight has risen markedly. Some manufacturers report that the cost of shipping their products to Europe has almost doubled.
Representatives of some large retail chains, such as Primark, H&M and Marks & Spencer, said that they transport a significant part of their goods by sea. However, experts warn: if the situation in the Middle East affects key sea routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, the price increase may affect sea transportation as well.
The industry fears that a prolonged conflict could cause a new crisis in the international clothing trade and further disrupt already unstable logistics chains.
