Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall import fell in September over the previous month of this calendar year as the country observed Eid-ul Fitr festival, officials said on Wednesday.
"The overall imports declined slightly in the month of September following the Eid-ul Fitr festival," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said, adding that the import activities were thin at least for two weeks before and after the Eid festival.
Opening of letters of credit (LCs) against imports, generally known as import orders, decreased by 13.85 percent during the period over the previous month, according to the central bank statistics.
On the other hand, the settlement of LCs, generally known as actual imports, also dropped by nearly 10 per cent during the period under review over the previous month.
The import LCs worth $2.633 billion were opened in September compared to $3.057 billion in August this year while LCs for imports worth $2.140 billion were settled in September 2010 against $2.375 billion in the previous month, the BB's data showed.
Import orders for rice, sugar, milk food, pulses and onion decreased in term of value in September over August while wheat and edible oil increased, the central bank officials added.
BBN/SSR/AD-14Oct10-12:25 am (BST)