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Ample supply of essentials ahead of Ramadan: BB


By BSS
Published : 02 Feb 2023 10:10 PM

Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Mezbaul Haque on Thursday informed that imports of commodities, which are usually in high demand during Ramadan, will be more than the requirement ahead of Ramadan.

"The number of Letter of Credits (LCs) which have already been opened for importing five essential products, is higher than the requirement. The products are sugar, edible oil, peas, onion and dates," he told a press conference at the central bank headquarters in the city.

 He informed that LCs have been opened for importing around 12.53 lakh metric tons of five essential commodities till Wednesday.

 "The products have started arriving in the country. The products will arrive before Ramadan. So, the supply of essential commodities will be smooth," he added. 

 He said although there is still a deficit in the balance of payments to meet the old import expenditure, this deficit will not be there anytime soon. 

 "The government is still discouraging the import of unnecessary and luxury goods. The government's existing measures will eliminate the dollar crisis," he added. 

 He said the flow of remittances into the country showed an upward trend in the recent periods due to different measures taken by the government to increase the country's remittance inflow.

 As per Bangladesh Bank (BB) available data, expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$1.95 billion in remittances in January, which was around 15 per cent higher than the amount received in December last year.

 Mezbaul Haque mentioned that despite different world crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war, export earnings are increasing which is a good sign for the country's economy. 

  As per Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country's export earnings during the July-January period of the current fiscal year (FY23) witnessed a good growth of 9.81 per cent compared to the same period of the last fiscal year (FY22).

 The export earnings totalled $32,447.50 million during this seven-month period compared to the same period of the last fiscal year.