Rice imports rise by 1,479pc, industrial materials 13pc
The country’s imports increased by 14.93 per cent in the recently concluded financial year compared with that of a negative growth of 7.05 per cent in the FY 2012-13 due mainly to a rise in the import of industrial raw materials and food products.
According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data released on Thursday, settlement of letters of credit, or generally known as actual imports, stood at $37.18 billion in the FY14 against $32.35 billion in the same period of the FY13.
BB officials said higher import of industrial raw materials and food grains pushed up the overall imports in the last financial year.
LC opening, or generally known as import orders, in the FY14 also posted a growth of 16.21 per cent compared with that of a negative growth of 2.84 per cent in the FY13.
LCs worth $41.81 billion were opened in the FY14 against LCs worth $35.98 billion opened in the FY13.
A BB official said the import of industrial raw materials and capital machinery increased significantly in the FY14 as the businesspeople increased the import of the products in the second half of the last financial year due to an eased situation on the political front.
Political unrest slightly eased in the recent months that encouraged the businesspeople to import the two products although political uncertainty is still prevailing in the country, the central banker said.
The imports of industrial raw materials and capital machinery increased by 12.94 per cent and 18.95 per cent to $14.72 billion and $2.51 billion respectively in the FY14, the BB data showed.
The import figures of the items were $13.03 billion and $2.11 billion in the FY13.
The BB data showed that import of rice increased by1,479.59 per cent to $377.22 million in the FY14 from $21.35 million in the FY13.
A BB official told New Age on Thursday that fall in the prices of food products including rice and wheat on the global market was one of the key reasons for the jump in the country’s import of the two products in the last financial year.
The rise in the rice prices on the local market also encouraged the importers to import more rice, he said.
The official said that appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar also prompted the importers to import the essential items more to meet the growing demand.
The import of wheat increased by 66.83 per cent to $1.07 billion in the FY14 from $642.94 million in the FY13.
The BB data showed that the import of soya bean oil rose by 136.80 per cent to $138.69 million and that of onion by 61.10 per cent to $167.33 million in the FY14. In the FY13, the country had imported soya bean oil worth $58.57 million and onion $103.87 million.
The BB data showed that import of petroleum products also registered a 4.26-per cent growth in the FY14 compared with that of a negative growth of 1.99 per cent in the same period of the FY13.
LCs worth $4.57 billion for petroleum products were settled in the FY14 against $4.39 billion in the FY13.
-With New Age input
