Dhaka, July 24 -- Bangladesh's external trade is set to get costlier as the government Thursday approved a proposal for increasing tariffs on both goods and vessels at Chittagong seaport, in some cases up to 10 times or above, officials said.

The ministry of finance gave the all-clear to the proposal submitted by the ministry of shipping for taking measures for "improving the quality of services and efficiency" at the country's prime seaport.

Chittagong Port Authority officials say the port-use tariffs have not been increased since 1986. However, it was found that tariffs for five services saw upward revision last time in May 2008.

The port users sharply reacted to the charge hike at a time when export to the United States is "under th...