Import orders up, actual imports fall in January
Sunday, 14 February 2010
FE Report
The country's overall import orders recorded a rise by over 9.0 per cent in January this year over the previous month of the last calendar year, officials said Saturday.
Opening of fresh letters of credit (LCs) against imports, generally known as import orders, rose to US$2.166 billion in January 2010 from $1.979 billion in December 2009, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.
"The import orders increased in the month of January to meet the growing demand of the essential items including fertiliser and petroleum products during the ongoing boro cultivation season," a senior official of the central bank told the FE Saturday.
On the other hand, the settlement of LCs for imports, generally known as actual imports, fell by 12 per cent to $1.822 billion during the period under review compared with the previous month.
"The settlement of LCs has declined because of fall in LC opening in the pervious month," the BB official said, adding that the import orders dropped by nearly 16 per cent in December last.
Opening of LCs fell to $1.979 billion in December from $2.355 billion in November 2009, the BB data showed.
Bankers said the import orders of essentials may rise in the month of February due to increase in demand for the items particularly fertiliser, edible oil, petroleum products and food grains in the local market.
"The overall import orders in terms of value may rise this month with a rise in prices of commodities including food and edible oil in the global market," a senior official of a commercial bank told the FE.
Import orders for essentials including rice and wheat increased in terms of both quantity and value in January over the previous month of the last year.
In January 2010, opening of LCs for rice stood at 39,000 tonnes in terms of quantity, the BB official, adding that no LC was opened for rice in the month of December.
During the period under review, the import orders for wheat increased by 273,000 tonnes to 588,000 tonnes in terms of quantity while the food grains import orders went up by $59.79 million to $140.55 million in terms of value.
Besides, the import orders for chemical fertiliser increased by $30.11 million to $99.26 million during the period over the previous month of the last calendar year.
The country's overall import orders recorded a rise by over 9.0 per cent in January this year over the previous month of the last calendar year, officials said Saturday.
Opening of fresh letters of credit (LCs) against imports, generally known as import orders, rose to US$2.166 billion in January 2010 from $1.979 billion in December 2009, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.
"The import orders increased in the month of January to meet the growing demand of the essential items including fertiliser and petroleum products during the ongoing boro cultivation season," a senior official of the central bank told the FE Saturday.
On the other hand, the settlement of LCs for imports, generally known as actual imports, fell by 12 per cent to $1.822 billion during the period under review compared with the previous month.
"The settlement of LCs has declined because of fall in LC opening in the pervious month," the BB official said, adding that the import orders dropped by nearly 16 per cent in December last.
Opening of LCs fell to $1.979 billion in December from $2.355 billion in November 2009, the BB data showed.
Bankers said the import orders of essentials may rise in the month of February due to increase in demand for the items particularly fertiliser, edible oil, petroleum products and food grains in the local market.
"The overall import orders in terms of value may rise this month with a rise in prices of commodities including food and edible oil in the global market," a senior official of a commercial bank told the FE.
Import orders for essentials including rice and wheat increased in terms of both quantity and value in January over the previous month of the last year.
In January 2010, opening of LCs for rice stood at 39,000 tonnes in terms of quantity, the BB official, adding that no LC was opened for rice in the month of December.
During the period under review, the import orders for wheat increased by 273,000 tonnes to 588,000 tonnes in terms of quantity while the food grains import orders went up by $59.79 million to $140.55 million in terms of value.
Besides, the import orders for chemical fertiliser increased by $30.11 million to $99.26 million during the period over the previous month of the last calendar year.