The central bank has extended the tenure of its different policy supports to export trade by three more months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.
The exporters will now enjoy the facilities until June 30 this year, according to a notification issued by Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Sunday. The existing supports were scheduled to expire on March 31.
"We've extended the tenure to give some extra comfort to the exporters," a senior official of BB told the FE. It is expected to leave a positive impact on the export trade amid the pandemic.
Under the policy supports, the time for repatriation of export proceeds is extendable up to 210 days from the date of shipment instead of 120 days earlier.
The back to back letters of credit (LCs) opened under supplier's/ buyer's credit are extendable to 180 days more within the permissible rate of interest.
This facility will be available on bonafide grounds necessitating the extended period to settle import payments, according to the BB officials.
Loan from the Export Development Fund (EDF) is extendable to an additional 180 days instead of 90 days.
Refinancing from the EDF up to 180 days is allowable in case of justifiable grounds required for settlement of import payments against back to back LCs opened under supplier's/buyer's credit.
The BB's latest move came against the backdrop of falling export earnings in the recent months, following the second wave of coronavirus in America and Europe.
The earnings from exports dropped by nearly 4.0 per cent year-on-year to $3.19 billion in February from $3.32 billion a year ago, according to the latest statistics of state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Besides, export earnings during the July-February period of the current fiscal year (FY) declined by 1.45 per cent to $25.86 billion from $26.24 billion in the same period of the previous financial year.
"The big exporters will get relief slightly from the extension of the policy supports," Fazlul Hoque, former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told the FE.
But the small and medium ones are unlikely to get mentionable benefit of it, said Mr. Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions.
Earlier on March 19 last calendar year, the central bank announced its first policy supports that were applicable till September 30, 2020 to help businesses ride out the storm of the pandemic.
Later, the BB extended such policy supports to March 31 this year.
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