Cargo handling at Bangladesh's main Chittagong port rose 21.39 percent to a record 37 million tons in the fiscal year that ended June, officials said.

The facility handled 30.48 million tonnes in the previous fiscal year, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) said in a statement.

The cargo handled in the year that ended June included 32.81 million tonnes of imports and 4.19 million tons of export shipments, including containers.

"An increase in overseas trade, the absence of labour unrest and improved port management contributed to enhancement of cargo handling," Syed Farhaduddin, secretary of the CPA, told Reuters.

Bangladesh imports mainly foodgrains, petroleum products, edible oil, sugar, fertilisers and cement. It exports mostly readymade garments, jute, jute goods, frozen foods, urea and naphtha.

Container handling increased 9.0 percent to 1.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the year from 1.1 million TEUs a year earlier. (Reuters)