A massive fire at Dhaka airport’s import cargo complex has caused widespread damage to goods and materials belonging to major garment exporters, with trade losses and impacts likely to run into millions of dollars, industry leaders said on Sunday.
A fire broke out in the import section of the airport’s cargo village on Saturday afternoon, forcing the temporary suspension of flights. Smoke continued to rise from the charred remains of the facility Sunday as firefighters and airport officials assessed the damage.
Fire gut storage areas used for imported raw materials, finished export garments, and product samples—essential to Bangladesh’s $47 billion garment industry.
“This incident has severely damaged the country’s export trade, especially the garment sector,” said Anamal Haq Khan, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“High-value goods and urgent aircraft have been destroyed—including ready-to-ship garments, raw materials for production, and most importantly, product samples.”
He warned that the loss of samples could jeopardize future business. “These samples are essential to securing new buyers and increasing orders. Losing them means our members may miss out on future opportunities,” he added.
The essential artifacts were burned in the fire
BGMEA has started collecting information from affected exporters to determine the extent of damages. “We have asked all members to submit detailed lists of damaged goods, and an online portal has been launched to expedite data collection,” Khan added.
The airport’s cargo village is one of Bangladesh’s busiest logistics hubs, handling more than 600 metric tons of dry cargo per day.
“Every day, around 200 to 250 factories send their products by air,” Khan said. “Given this scale, the financial impact is significant.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the investigation is ongoing.
In this incident, Bangladesh has reported the third major fire in the (last) week. A fire broke out at a garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Dhaka on Tuesday (October 14). Minimum 16 people and injured others. On Thursday (October 16), another set fire to a seven-storey garment factory building in the export processing zone in Chittagong.
Bangladesh is the world’s second largest apparel exporter after China. The sector, which supplies major global retailers such as Walmart, H&M, and GAP, employs about 440 million workers and generates about $40 billion a year—more than a tenth of the country’s GDP.
The fire, which occurred during the export season, is expected to delay shipments and pose additional challenges in meeting international delivery deadlines.
(Reporting by Roma Paul; Editing by Louis Sky)
