Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall imports grew by 10.92 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY), 2014-15 due mainly to higher import of fuel oils and capital machinery, officials said.
The actual import in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) increased by 10.92 per cent to US$9.80 billion during the July-September of FY ’15 from $8.83 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
On the other hand, opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, increased by 12.81 per cent to $ 10.83 billion in the Q1 of FY ’15 from $9.60 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
“The rising trend of overall imports may continue in the coming months if the political stability continues,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
The import of fuel oils shot by 53.02 per cent to $1.26 billion during the Q1 of FY ’15 from $821.81 million in the same period of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed.
“We expect that the import of petroleum products may fall in the coming months due to seasonal effect,” the BB official noted.
Import of capital machinery or industrial equipment used for production rose by 22.03 per cent to $691.36 million during the period under review against $566.54 million of the corresponding period of FY ’14.
Food grain imports, particularly rice and wheat, dropped by 32.90 per cent to $299.72 million during the period from $446.70 million in the same period of the FY ’14.
Import of intermediate goods like coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels, fell by 7.97 per cent to $752.29 million in the Q1 of the current FY from $817.48 million in the corresponding period of the FY ’14.
During the period, the import of machinery for miscellaneous industries witnessed a 24.78 per cent growth to $967.93 million from $806.08 million in the same period of the FY ’14.
On the other hand, import of industrial raw materials rose by 2.20 per cent to $ 3.74 billion during the period under review from $3.66 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
BBN/SSR/AD-07Nov14-9:45 am (BST)