Finance
Trade Deficit Trade deficit in first eight months is 2,230 crore USD
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, April 8: The country is facing a huge trade deficit due to the rising imports.
The trade deficit widened to 2,230 crore USD in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. In local currency (One USD= Rs 86) which amounts to one lakh 91 thousand 780 crore rupees.
According to the updated data of Bangladesh Bank, in the eight months (July to February) of the current fiscal year 2021-2022, the trade deficit of Bangladesh stood at 2,230.5 crore dollars, which was at 1,235.9 crore dollars in the first eight months of the previous fiscal year (2020-21). The trade deficit for the whole of the last financial year was 2,377 crore USD.
As the export of goods is less than the import of the country, there is always a trade deficit. Since the Corona situation has returned to normal, there has been a good growth in imports and exports since the beginning of the current financial year. However, the trade deficit widened due to higher growth in imports than exports, Central bank officials said.
During the period from July to February of 2021-2022 fiscal year, exports increased by 30 percent and imports increased by 47 percent. During the period under review, the country earned 3,207 crore dollars from exports. Five thousand 438 crore dollars were spent on importing goods. Excluding export earnings from import expenditure, the trade deficit stood at 2,230 crore dollars.
The trade deficit in the service sector has also widened in the last eight months. In the first eight months of the current financial year, Bangladesh earned 614 crore dollars in the service sector and the country spent 864 crore dollars in this sector. The deficit in the service sector stands at 250 crore dollars. The deficit during the same period of the previous financial year was 173 crore dollars.
In the eight months (July-February), remittances amounting to 1,344 crore dollars have reached the country, which was 19 percent less than the same period of the previous financial year. During that period, net FDI was 253 crore dollars.
