Imports up by 44pc in eight months
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Siddique Islam
The country's overall imports grew by over 44 per cent in the first eight months of this fiscal, thanks to a jump by nearly 117 per cent in the import of food grains, officials said. Letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth US$ 20.604 billion were settled during the July-February period of fiscal 2010-11 (FY 11), compared to $ 14.272 billion during the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the central bank statistics. "The overall imports increased during the period under review due mainly to higher import of food grains, particularly rice and wheat," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday. The import of food grains stood at $ 1.114 billion during the period against $ 514.62 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, while other consumer goods came down to $ 1.068 billion from $ 1.145 billion. "The importers have been encouraged to open LCs for importing food grains to ensure the country's food security," the BB official said, adding that the central bank provides foreign currency support to the commercial banks for settlement of food grains import bills. During the period, food grains import stood higher at 3.152 million tonnes compared to 2.340 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed. Food grains stock including that under the pipeline with the government also stood higher at 891,000 tonnes at the end of February this calendar year compared to 809,000 tonnes at the end of February, 2010. The actual production of food grains stood at 33.158 million tonnes during FY10, the BB officials added. They said import of other essential items including petroleum products, industrial raw materials and capital machinery also increased significantly during the period to meet the domestic demand. Import of petroleum products grew by 50 per cent to $ 2.004 billion during the period against $ 1.336 billion of the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. "Petroleum products import may increase further in the coming months to meet soaring demand for irrigation and oil-based power plants," the central bank official added. Import of capital machinery - industrial equipment used for production - was up by 39.52 per cent to $ 1.324 billion, reflecting a rising level of confidence among the entrepreneurs about the country's future industrial prospects, the BB official said. However, industrial raw materials import grew by 54.79 per cent to $ 8.195 billion during the period under review from $ 5.294 billion in the corresponding period of the pervious fiscal. Meanwhile, import of intermediate goods like coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels decreased by 0.18 per cent to $ 1.265 billion during the period from $ 1.267 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. During the period, import of machinery for miscellaneous industries witnessed a 48.07 per cent rise to $ 1.792 billion compared to $ 1.210 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The country's overall imports grew by over 44 per cent in the first eight months of this fiscal, thanks to a jump by nearly 117 per cent in the import of food grains, officials said. Letters of credit (LCs) against imports worth US$ 20.604 billion were settled during the July-February period of fiscal 2010-11 (FY 11), compared to $ 14.272 billion during the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the central bank statistics. "The overall imports increased during the period under review due mainly to higher import of food grains, particularly rice and wheat," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday. The import of food grains stood at $ 1.114 billion during the period against $ 514.62 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, while other consumer goods came down to $ 1.068 billion from $ 1.145 billion. "The importers have been encouraged to open LCs for importing food grains to ensure the country's food security," the BB official said, adding that the central bank provides foreign currency support to the commercial banks for settlement of food grains import bills. During the period, food grains import stood higher at 3.152 million tonnes compared to 2.340 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed. Food grains stock including that under the pipeline with the government also stood higher at 891,000 tonnes at the end of February this calendar year compared to 809,000 tonnes at the end of February, 2010. The actual production of food grains stood at 33.158 million tonnes during FY10, the BB officials added. They said import of other essential items including petroleum products, industrial raw materials and capital machinery also increased significantly during the period to meet the domestic demand. Import of petroleum products grew by 50 per cent to $ 2.004 billion during the period against $ 1.336 billion of the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. "Petroleum products import may increase further in the coming months to meet soaring demand for irrigation and oil-based power plants," the central bank official added. Import of capital machinery - industrial equipment used for production - was up by 39.52 per cent to $ 1.324 billion, reflecting a rising level of confidence among the entrepreneurs about the country's future industrial prospects, the BB official said. However, industrial raw materials import grew by 54.79 per cent to $ 8.195 billion during the period under review from $ 5.294 billion in the corresponding period of the pervious fiscal. Meanwhile, import of intermediate goods like coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels decreased by 0.18 per cent to $ 1.265 billion during the period from $ 1.267 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. During the period, import of machinery for miscellaneous industries witnessed a 48.07 per cent rise to $ 1.792 billion compared to $ 1.210 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.