The country’s import of consumer goods increased by 43.78 per cent in the first nine months of this financial year from that of the same period in the FY 2012-13 due mainly to higher import of rice, wheat, soya bean oil and onion in the period. According to the Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, settlement of letters of credit, or generally known as actual imports, for consumer goods stood at $3.52 billion in July-March of the FY14 against $2.43 billion in the same period of the FY13.
Due to the higher import of consumer goods, the country’s overall import posted a 14.12-per cent growth in the first nine months of the FY14 compared with that of a negative growth of 10.40 per cent in the corresponding period of the FY13.
LCs for all products worth $27.37 billion were settled in the first nine months of the FY14 while the figure was $23.98 billion during the same period of the FY13.
The BB data showed that the import of rice increased by 1,352.01 per cent to $229.59 million in July-March of the FY14 from $15.81 million in the same period of the FY13.
A BB official told New Age on Monday that fall in rice prices on the global market was the key reason for the jump in the country’s rice import in the period.
The rise in the rice prices on the local market also encouraged the importers, he said.
He said that appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar also prompted the importers to import the essential item more to meet the growing demand.
According to a BB report, the prices of rice on the global market decreased to $392.96 a tonne in the first half of the FY14 from $458.47 a tonne on average in the FY13.
The prices of rice were at $504.43 a tonne on average in the FY12 and $470.66 a tonne in the FY11.
Retailers are selling the coarse verities of rice at between Tk 38 and Tk 40 a kilogram in the capital.
Under the circumstances, importers have recently gained remarkable profits by importing rice, the BB official said.
The import of rice will increase further in the months to come as the businesspeople have already opened huge LCs against the products, he said.
The BB data showed that the opening of LCs for rice increased by 1,320.36 per cent to $287.22 million in July-March in the FY14 from $20.22 million in the same period of the FY13.
Not only the prices of rice but also those of other consumer products like wheat and soya bean oil decreased on the global market which pushed up the overall import volume for the consumer products, he said.
The BB data showed that the import of wheat and soya bean oil increased by 95.45 per cent and 120.43 per cent to $836.56 million and $124.39 million respectively in the first nine months of the FY14 from $428.03 million and $56.43 million in the same period of the FY13.
The import of onion increased by 82.95 per cent to $146.81 million in July-March of the FY14 from $80.25 million in the same period of the FY13, the BB data showed.
-With New Age input
