Fuel Price Hike Sends Benapole Truck Fares Soaring: Tk 5,000-8,000 Per Trip

🚚 The fuel price hike is rippling through Benapole Land Port in Jashore, pushing up the cost of transporting goods across Bangladesh. Truck owners and workers say fares have risen by Tk 5,000 to Tk 8,000 per trip depending on the destination, putting importers and traders under fresh pressure.

📊 Hundreds of import-export trucks pass through Benapole every day, with at least 500 carrying imported goods from the port into the country. Importers and businesses are struggling as transport costs rise. Arguments between truck drivers and importers and traders over fares have continued since Monday morning.

📜 Benapole: Bangladesh's Largest Land Port

Benapole Land Port Importer and Exporter Association President Matiar Rahman said: "Benapole is the country's largest land port. Every day, 350 to 400 trucks carry imported goods through this port, while 100 to 150 trucks export goods. Because of the fuel price hike, we cannot send imported and export goods to different districts and abroad. Truck owners have raised fares by Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 along with the fuel price hike. This has put businesses in severe trouble."

• 🚚 Truck fare increase: Tk 5,000-8,000 per trip
• 🚚 Daily import trucks: 350-400
• 🚚 Daily export trucks: 100-150
• 🚚 Total daily trucks: ~500
• 📍 Port: Benapole Land Port, Jashore (largest land port)
• 📜> Association President: Matiar Rahman
• 💰> New diesel price: Tk 135/litre (up Tk 20)

💰 Transport Cost Transmission

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division issued a gazette Sunday night raising the prices of four fuels by Tk 20 per litre. Diesel now costs Tk 135, kerosene Tk 155, octane Tk 165 and petrol Tk 160. Transport operators said fares for destinations inside the country have risen by Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000. They expect higher transport costs to push up commodity prices.

The fare increase transmission — from Tk 20/litre diesel price hike to Tk 5,000-8,000 per truck trip fare increase — illustrates the multiplier effect of fuel prices on logistics costs. A typical truck consuming approximately 40-50 litres of diesel per 100 km would see fuel costs increase by Tk 800-1,000 per 100 km. For a typical Dhaka-Benapole round trip of approximately 400 km, the increased fuel cost would be approximately Tk 3,200-4,000 — meaning that the Tk 5,000-8,000 fare increase includes both the fuel cost passthrough and a margin increase for truck operators.

🌏 Strategic Context: Import Cost Inflation

For Bangladesh's import economy, the Benapole truck fare increase carries direct implications for consumer prices. Goods imported through Benapole — including onions, fruits, spices, and industrial raw materials from India — will see increased landed costs as transport charges rise. These increased costs will ultimately be passed through to consumer prices, contributing to the inflationary pressure that the CPD's Dr Fahmida Khatun warned about following the fuel price hike.

Benapole is particularly significant because it handles a substantial share of Bangladesh's overland imports from India — Bangladesh's largest import source. If truck operators at Benapole sustain the Tk 5,000-8,000 fare increase, the cost of all goods imported through this port will rise meaningfully — affecting consumer prices for agricultural products, industrial inputs and consumer goods that flow through this critical border crossing.

The coming weeks will reveal whether the truck fare increases stabilise at the Tk 5,000-8,000 level or whether competitive pressure among truck operators moderates the fare increases as the initial shock of the fuel price hike dissipates. For Bangladesh's inflation trajectory, the transport cost passthrough from Benapole will be one of the earliest and most visible indicators of the fuel price hike's real economy impact.