Imports double in January

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FE Report
The opening of fresh letters of credit (LCs) against imports almost doubled in January last against that of the corresponding period of the previous year, thanks to higher import of food grains and petroleum products, officials said.
The import LCs worth US$ 2.241 billion were opened during the period as against $1.163 billion of the same period of the last year, according to central bank statistics released Thursday.
"The opening of fresh LCs against imports shot up during the period due mainly to increased LCs for essential items, including food grains and gasoline products," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday.
He also said the current trend of opening of fresh LCs might slightly slow down in the coming months because of harvesting of a new Boro crop.
"The opening of LCs for petroleum products increased in the period under review because of higher diesel import for irrigation purpose," the BB official added.
The prices of some commodities marked a significant rise in the global market this year pushing the overall value of LCs up, he noted.
The opening of LCs for import of some essential items, including rice, wheat, sugar, edible oils, pulses and onion, also rose in terms of both value and quantity to meet the growing demand in the market, they added.
During the period, opening of LCs for rice increased by $222.10 million in terms of value while LCs for wheat rose by $26.70 million, sugar by $17.76 million, edible oils by $79.24 million, pulses by $12.49 million and onion by $7.58 million.
On the other hand, opening of LCs for rice import went up by 501,000 tonnes in terms of quantity. For wheat import it went up by 30,000 tonnes, sugar by 66, 000 tonnes, edible oils by 62,000 tonnes, and onion by 29,000 tonnes during the period.
Earlier, the BB instructed the commercial banks to encourage businesses, particularly small and medium, for opening fresh LCs against imports to ensure sufficient supply of commodities in the markets.
The central bank also asked the banks to be flexible while opening fresh LCs for import of the essential commodities.