A coalition of garment manufacturers is warning that a recent fire at the cargo complex for Bangladesh's largest airport could lead to $1 billion in losses.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's cargo import area caught fire on October 18, injuring at least 35 people, destroying vast amounts of clothes and raw materials, and taking more than a day to fully extinguish. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), losses from the fire included urgent shipments that were "essential for securing new buyers and expanding orders." 

"Losing them means our members may miss out on future opportunities,” BGMEA senior VP Inamul Haq Khan told Al Jazeera.

The airport's cargo village handles an estimated 600 metric tons of dry cargo each day for most of the year, and twice that number during the peak season from October through December. Bangladesh's garment industry also generates roughly $40 billion annually, and the country stands as the second largest exporter of clothing in the world after China. 

This marked Bangladesh's third major fire inside of a week, after a chemical warehouse fire killed 16 people in the country's capital of Dhaka on October 14, and a separate blaze burned down a clothing factory in Chittagong two days later.