Blockade pulls down Jan 1-17 import orders

The overall import orders plummeted in the first three weeks of January, as mainly the ongoing political turmoil slowed economic activity, trade and investment in the country, officials said Wednesday.
The opening of letters of credit (LC) against imports -- generally known as import orders -- dropped more than 18 per cent to $ 1.49 billion (149 crore) between January 1 and January 17 from $ 1.83 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
On the other hand, LC settlement that stands for actual import decreased nearly 7.00 per cent to $ 1.62 billion during the period under review from $ 1.74 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
"Such a declining trend in import continued during the remaining two weeks of January," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He said the complete import statement for January last would be released by next week.
"Overall imports may fall further in the coming months, if the ongoing political unrest continues," the central banker predicted.
He also said import orders for different essential items, including scrap vessels, raw cotton and back-to-back imports for readymade garment (RMG) sector, went down during the period under review.
"It's a bad signal for the economy. The overall export earnings may fall in the coming months, if the declining trend in import orders for RMG materials continues," the BB official said in reply to a query.
Besides, the import orders for fuel oils drastically fell to $ 2.06 million during the period under review from $ 132.20 million in the corresponding period of 2014, the BB data showed.
"Lower prices of petroleum products on the global market have also contributed to the decrease in import orders in terms of value," another BB official explained.
He said the import orders for capital machinery, however, marked a rise in the first 17 days of January last despite the political unrest.
This category of import-which indicates undertaking or expanding industrial ventures-rose to $ 139.64 million in the period from $ 125.85 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Talking to the FE, a senior official of a leading private commercial bank said most of importers were now following a 'go-slow' policy to avoid financial risks due to the ongoing political unrest and uncertainty.
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