Finance
Import-Export Upward trend of import expenditure going downwards
Dhaka, May 13: Despite the increase in remittances and export earnings for several months, the country's economy has come under some pressure to meet the cost of importing goods. The situation has reached such a stage that in just a few days, the value of money has to be devalued against the dollar. Besides, Bangladesh Bank has to take several more steps to overcome this pressure. Bangladesh Bank instructed the banks to provide necessary dollars as well as discourage the import of luxury goods. In this context, the import pressure has already come down.
Bangladesh Bank's updated report shows that the upward trend in import expenditure over the last few months has come down considerably. According to the Bangladesh Bank, the import expenditure was USD 832.48 crore in February. The next month, in March, the import expenditure was USD 772.46 crore. That means USD 60 crore less was spent last month than the previous month.
According to the central bank, last December, January and February. More than USD 8 billion has been spent on imports over the past three months. It dropped to USD 7 billion in March.
According to the Bangladesh Bank, the cost of importing goods increased by 25 percent in March compared to the same period last year. However, import expenditure increased by more than 50 per cent in February over the same period last year. In the last eight months from July to February, the overall import expenditure has increased by 46.68 percent. In the nine months from July to March, the import expenditure has increased by 43.84 percent. In other words, the overall import expenditure has decreased by three percent as a result of one month reduction in import expenditure.
In this regard, Dr. Zayed Bakht, a researcher at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and chairman of Agrani Bank, said that this is the result of the initiative taken by Bangladesh Bank to discourage the import of luxury goods. He thinks the country's economy is moving in the right direction. However, the abnormal rise in commodity prices is causing hardship for low-income earners. However, he thinks that the prices of goods are increasing due to international reasons.
