Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall trade deficit widened further in the month of March last due mainly to higher import payments and relatively lower export growth, officials said.
In March 2014, the trade deficit widened by 38.75 percent that was nearly 28 percent in the previous month, according to the central bank statistics.
"The trade deficit widened significantly in the month of March 2014 over the previous month because of higher import payments than export earnings," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the trade deficit may widen further in the coming months if the existing trend in foreign trade persists.
The trade deficit rose to US$ 4.94 billion in the July-March period of this fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, from $3.56 billion in the July-February period. It was $2.79 billion in the July-January period of the same fiscal.
The overall imports increased significantly mainly due to higher import of food grains and petroleum products, another central banker explained.
The country’s overall imports increased by 30.61 percent to $3.44 billion in March last from $2.63 billion in the same period of the previous year, the BB data showed.
“We assume that the existing upward trend of imports will continue in the coming months ahead of the holy Ramadan,” the central banker noted.
Normally, a large quantity of essential commodities is imported to meet the additional demand of consumers during Ramadan, the month of fasting.
However, the overall trade deficit rose to $4.94 billion in the July-March period of the FY 14 from $4.86 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The overall imports rose to $26.91 billion in the first nine months of this FY from $24.22 billion in the corresponding period, while export earnings rose to $21.96 billion from $19.36 billion.
BBN/SSR/AD-09May14-5:39 pm (BST)
