The country's largest seaport, which handles around 92 per cent of total import and export trade and 98 per cent of containerised cargo, handled 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of export, import and empty containers last year. That was a rise of 133,442 TEUs from 3.276 million TEUs a year earlier.
Of the total, about 1.857 million TEUs were import containers and 1.552 million TEUs export containers. Roughly 750,000 TEUs were empty containers, according to domestic media reports.
The port managed 138.2 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, up from 124 million tonnes a year earlier—an increase of 14.2 million tonnes. Vessel calls rose to 4,273, compared with 3,867 in 2024.
By the last quarter of 2025, vessel waiting times fell to almost zero, allowing the port to maintain growth.
Container volumes in the country could rise by a million TEUs within the next five years, Khairul Alam Suzan, former director of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, said.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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