Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall import orders have increased slightly in December last over the previous month, as a significant number of letters of credit (LCs) for scrap-vessels were opened, officials said.
“The rising trend of import orders are expected to continue in the coming months that will also contribute to increase the overall actual imports,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
Opening of LCs against imports, generally known as import orders, increased by 3.10 percent to US$2.827 billion in December 2012 from $2.742 billion in November, according to the central bank statistics.
The BB official also said fuel oil imports have already started rising which will continue in the coming months to meet the growing demand for the essential for irrigation purpose across the country.
The import LCs for scrap-vessels worth $140.09 million were opened in December compared to $39.87 million in November, while LCs against imports worth $66.19 million were settled in December against $26.08 million in the previous month.
On the other hand, the settlement of LCs, generally known as actual imports, declined by 3.29 per cent during the period under the review over the previous month of last calendar year.
The country’s actual import payments came down to $2.543 billion in December from $2.630 billion of the previous month, the BB data showed.
BBN/SSR/AD-16Jan13-10:55 am (BST)
