Big jump in imports in July-Jan period
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Siddique Islam
The country's overall imports grew by nearly 44 per cent during the first seven months of this fiscal, led by food grains, petroleum products and capital machinery, officials said Tuesday. Letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth US$ 18.059 billion were settled during the July-January period of fiscal 2010-11 (FY 11), compared to $12.557 billion during the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics. "The overall imports increased during the period under review due to higher import of food grains, and other essential items, including petroleum products, industrial raw materials and capital machinery, to meet the domestic demand," a BB senior official told the FE. He also said the import of food grains, particularly rice and wheat, rose significantly both in terms of value and quantity during the period, to ensure the country's food security. "The importers have been encouraged to open LCs for importing food grains," the BB official said. The central bank is providing foreign exchange support to the banks for settlement of payments for import of food grains, he also said. The overall imports decreased in February over that of January due to fewer working days. Besides, insufficient supply of the greenback was also responsible for lower import in February, he added.
The country's overall imports grew by nearly 44 per cent during the first seven months of this fiscal, led by food grains, petroleum products and capital machinery, officials said Tuesday. Letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth US$ 18.059 billion were settled during the July-January period of fiscal 2010-11 (FY 11), compared to $12.557 billion during the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics. "The overall imports increased during the period under review due to higher import of food grains, and other essential items, including petroleum products, industrial raw materials and capital machinery, to meet the domestic demand," a BB senior official told the FE. He also said the import of food grains, particularly rice and wheat, rose significantly both in terms of value and quantity during the period, to ensure the country's food security. "The importers have been encouraged to open LCs for importing food grains," the BB official said. The central bank is providing foreign exchange support to the banks for settlement of payments for import of food grains, he also said. The overall imports decreased in February over that of January due to fewer working days. Besides, insufficient supply of the greenback was also responsible for lower import in February, he added.