Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Bangladesh’s actual import recorded a substantial rise in December 2010 over the previous month of last calendar year while import orders decreased, officials said on Wednesday.
The settlement of letters of credit (LCs), generally known as actual imports, increased by nearly 11 per cent during the period under review over the previous month, according to the central bank statistics.
“The actual import increased during the period under review due mainly to increase in the settlement of LCs for imports of essentials including food grains, capital machinery and petroleum products,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said.
On the other hand, opening of LCs against imports, known as import orders, decreased by over 18 per cent during the period compared to the previous month.
The import LCs worth US$2.881 billion were settled in the month of December compared to $2.600 billion in November 2010 while the LCs against imports worth $2.881 billion were opened in December last against $3.516 billion of the previous month, the BB data showed.
The food grains imports may increase further in the near future as the government had decided not to purchase any food grains – rice and paddy – during the last Aman season, the BB official said, adding that the import of petroleum products may rise in the coming months to meet the growing demand for fuel oils during the ongoing boro season.
BBN/SSR/AD-19Jan11-8:56 pm (BST)
