Import rises 11.36pc in July-November

The country's overall import increased by more than 11 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2014-15, mainly due to higher import of fuel oils and capital machinery, officials said.
The actual import in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) grew by 11.36 per cent to US$16.20 billion during the July-November period of FY 15 from $14.55 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
On the other hand, opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, rose by 14.77 per cent to $17.74 billion in the first five months of FY 15 from $15.45 billion in the same period of FY 14.
"The rising trend of overall import may continue in the coming months, if there is political stability," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Wednesday.
Fuel oils import increased by 28.30 per cent to $1.87 billion during the July-November period of FY 15 against $1.46 billion of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The import of petroleum products may fall in the coming months due to seasonal effect, the central banker explained.
The import of capital machinery or industrial equipment used for productions rose by 21.29 per cent to $1.15 billion during the first five months of this fiscal against $948.73 million of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
"Higher import for sectors like power and energy, leather and tannery, electronic, food processing, ceramic and melamine have contributed to raise the overall capital machinery import during the period under review," another BB official noted.
However, the food-grain import, particularly of rice and wheat, dropped by 6.54 per cent to $565.74 million during the July-November period of FY 15 from $605.33 million in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The import of intermediate goods, like - coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels, increased by 7.50 per cent to $1.33 billion in the first five months of the current FY from $1.24 billion in the same period of FY 14.
On the other hand, the import of industrial raw materials rose by 3.32 per cent to $6.16 billion during the period under review from $5.96 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
During the period, the import of machinery for miscellaneous industries witnessed a 15.88 per cent growth to $1.66 billion from $1.43 billion in the corresponding period of FY 14.
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