Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall imports grew by 27.63 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal against the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
“The country’s overall import slightly increased during the period due to higher import of some items including capital machinery, fertilizer and scrap vessels to meet the growing demand in the local market,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
The import trend is still in right track on the basis of the overall economic performances, the official noted.
The letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth $5.731 billion were settled during July-September period of fiscal 2008-09 compared with $4.491 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank provisional statistics, released on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the overall trend of opening of fresh LCs against imports increased by 20.71 per cent during the period against the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the officials added.
The import LCs worth US$ 6.439 billion were opened during the period as against $5.334 billion of the corresponding period of previous fiscal, the BB's data showed.
BBN/SI/SS/AD-16October08-8:41 AM (BST)