Bangladesh’s imports fall 5.70% in January

Last updated: February 20, 2017

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall imports decreased by 5.70 per cent in January over the previous month mainly due to lower import of consumer goods and capital machinery.
Actual import in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) came down to $ 3.89 billion in January 2017 from $ 4.12 billion in December 2016. It was $ 2.89 billion in January 2016, according to the central bank’s latest statistics.
On the other hand, opening of LCs, known as import orders, fell by 7.85 per cent to $ 4.34 billion last month from $ 4.70 billion in December. It was $ 2.92 billion in January 2016.
Talking to BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, said overall imports dropped slightly in January mainly due to lower import of consumer goods including wheat and edible oil.
He also said lower import of capital machinery has also pushed down the overall imports in the month of January as compared to the previous month.
Import of capital machinery or industrial equipment used for production decreased by 9.60 per cent to $ 264.34 million in January from $ 292.40 million a month before, the BB data showed.
However, import of petroleum products increased slightly during the period under review to meet the growing demand for the items during the ongoing Boro cropping season.
Import of fuel oils rose by 28.74 per cent to $ 218.04 million in January 2017 from $ 169.36 million in December last year.
“Overall imports of petroleum products may rise further in the coming months to meet the growing demand for these essential items,” the central banker explained.
He also expected that import of capital machinery would pick up this month for implementation of different ongoing infrastructure development projects across the country.
Currently, the government is implementing nine projects under a Fast-Track Project Monitoring Committee, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Import of capital machinery rose by 60 per cent to $ 2.87 billion in the first six months of this fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 against $ 1.69 billion during the same period of FY 16.

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