Amid curb on imports, trade deficit cross $14b in first 9 months of FY23

Staff Reporter :
Despite government’s initiatives to curb imports, country’s trade deficit stood at $14.61 billion in the first nine months (July- March) of the current financial year due to the increasing price of imported goods and slow growth of exports.

According to the Bangladesh Bank data published on Wednesday, in the first nine months the import payments reduced by 12.33 per cent year-on-year to $ 53.93 billion from $61.52 billion in the same period of FY22.

The export earnings rose by 7.76 per cent to $39.32 billion in the July-March of FY23 compared with that of $36.49 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, as per data from the central bank.

According to experts, with the dollar reserve dwindling, the government and the central bank have taken a series of steps to rein in rising import costs, such as limiting the imports of non-essential goods.

As a result, items of imports reduced noticeably in the first nine months of FY23 but the increasing price of essential imported items like fuel, indusial raw materials and capital goods, food grains further push the total amount of imports.

On the other hand, country witnessed a relatively slow growth on its earning from exports. As a result the deficit not much reduced as we all expected.

As the growth remittance inflow also showing limited growth, finally they all will create an extra burden on the country’s current account balance, they added.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) towards the country increased by 7.08 per cent to $3.78 billion in July-March of the current financial year from $3.53 billion in the same period of FY22.

However, the net aid flows in the country in the first nine months of FY23 decreased to $3.76 billion against $5.44 billion in the corresponding period of FY22.

Meanwhile, the current account deficit in the first 9 months of the current financial year has been $ 3.64 billion dollars. It was $ 14.34 billion in the same period of the last financial year.