In the absence of a deep sea port, exporters in Bangladesh cannot send goods directly to final destinations in Europe and the US.
Vessels take goods to Singapore, from where they are taken to their final destinations. But the port at Singapore is running past its capacity, so goods are stuck there for long.

So garment exporters are keen on using the sea port in Colombo as it would save them time and money. In the era of fast fashion a shorter lead time gives them a competitive edge.

If goods bound for Europe can be shipped via Sri Lanka instead of Singapore, exporters will be able to cut the lead time by 15 to 20 days. The cost of shipping would halve too. Up to 30 days can be shaved from the lead time as well.

As Colombo port is running at only 30 per cent of its capacity, using this port instead of the port at Singapore is very much a practical choice for exporters now.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka plan to collaborate in boosting apparel exports to Europe. One possible area for cooperation is export of some products to the EU through Sri Lanka for getting better prices. Another is value addition in export products.