Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Opening of letters of credit (LCs) for imports increased by 13.29 percent during the first 24 days of July compared to that of the corresponding period of the previous year.
“The overall trend of opening LCs for imports, particularly food grains, will continue till September, 2008 due to the month of Ramadan,” a senior official of Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told AHN in Dhaka on Sunday.
He also said a large quantity of essential commodities, particularly wheat, pulses, onion, milk food and edible oils, will be imported normally to meet the growing demand from the consumers during the month of Ramadan, a holy month for the Muslims around the world, he added.
Import LCs worth US$ 1.581 billion were opened during the period against LCs worth $1.396 billion of the corresponding period of last year, according to the central bank statistics.
LCs, opened for import of some essential items including sugar and onion, rose during the period while those on rice, wheat, milk food, edible oils and pulses marked a fall, the BB’s data showed.
BBN/SI/SI/AD-11August08-1:40 AM