Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh’s overall import orders decreased slightly in March this year over the previous month, mainly due mainly to lower opening of letters of credit (LCs) for fuel oil import, officials said.
Opening of LCs against import, generally known as import orders, fell by 7.33 per cent in March last over February 2012, according to the central bank statistics.
“The country’s overall import orders decreased in March mainly due to drop in opening of fresh LCs for fuel oil import,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka, adding that the import orders for petroleum products increased in February for harvesting of Boro crop across the country.
The import orders for petroleum products dropped by around 40 per cent to US$ 368 million in March from $ 612.38 million in February last. Besides, LCs against fuel oil import worth $ 516.65 million were settled in March against $ 322.81 million in February.
On the other hand, the settlement of overall LCs, generally known as actual imports, also decreased by 3.39 per cent in the month under review over the previous month, the BB data showed.
LCs against import worth $ 2.814 billion were opened in March, against $ 3.037 billion of the previous month. Besides, import LCs worth $ 2.785 billion were settled in March, compared to $ 2.882 billion in February.
“The declining trend of import has continued in the month of April,” the central banker said, adding that such trend may continue by the end of June this year.
He also said import of some essentials including sugar, edible oil, onion, pulses and dates may increase in the coming months due mainly to the Holy Ramadan.
Bankers, however, said the country’s overall import may fall further in the coming months, as the central bank is maintaining a restrained monetary policy to bring down inflation to a single digit from the current level of 10.92 per cent through discouraging credit flow to unproductive sectors.
BBN/SSR/AD-01May12-12:01 pm (BST)
