The EU has decided to screen imports from Bangladesh. Shipments, by air or sea, will be screened by bomb-detecting dogs and devices at some intermediate points like Dubai or Istanbul or Doha or Colombo or Singapore.

Some air shipments from Bangladesh are already being routed through Dubai, Istanbul or Doha for screening, and some sea shipments are going through Colombo or Singapore.

The move makes Bangladesh the thirteenth country designated as high risk for EU commerce. It is likely to make it costlier for businesses in Bangladesh to sell products to EU nations.

Last year, Britain, Germany and Australia banned direct cargo shipments from Bangladesh. The country has suffered a string of deadly attacks in recent years claimed by extremists targeting perceived enemies of Islam, including bloggers, rights activists, atheists, religious minorities and foreigners.

Business leaders are worried about the possible delays in screening, when they are already scrambling to fulfil large orders on short notice despite frequent power outages that shut operations down.

Screening in a third country adds to the cost. Fresh screening will take at least ten days, at a time when factories are struggling to ship goods on time for many reasons.

Bangladesh’s garment exports to the EU are 60 per cent of the industry’s exports.