Country’s trade deficit declined by almost 50 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to the amount for the same period of last fiscal year, due to the reasonable import tariff amid coronavirus crisis.
The trade deficit from July to September stands at $203.90 core ($2.03 billion). The amount was $ 384 crore (3.84 $ billion) in the same period of last year, indicating the turnaround of the country’s economy.
Market analysts said exports increased and imports declined amid coronavirus pandemic.
On the other hand, the country’s exports have already gained some momentum in July after three months of stagnation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The latest data released by Bangladesh Bank (BB) said in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year 2020-21, the surplus of current account stood at $353.40 crore ($3.53 billion).
In the same period of previous fiscal, there was no surplus in the country’s current account. The deficit was $71.70 crore.
As per the BB report, the country’s import payments in July-September of FY21 stood at $1,173.60 crore while the country’s export earnings in same time stood at $969.70 crore.
As a result, the overall trade deficit on the time stood at $203.9 crore.
During the time, the export earnings have increased by about 3 percent while the import expenditure has decreased by 11.47 percent.
The trade deficit in the services sector has also narrowed.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at a programme recently said, “As I said earlier, Bangladesh's economy is recovering from the epidemic. Proof of this is the surplus of more than $3.5 billion in the first three months of the fiscal year.”
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute, said, “There was a huge financial surplus at the end of the last fiscal year due to large loans from various donor agencies including the World Bank, IMF and ADB. However, having a large surplus in the balance of payments is a relief for the economy, but overall, prudent economic activities must be emphasized.”
The export situation has been recovering and would regain its pre-pandemic position by the end of this year, he said.
The stimulus package has helped the country’s export sector and that is why exports have recovered but the package designed for the small and medium entrepreneurs was not picking up pace, he added.
