Bangladesh Trade Deficit Widens To Over $3 Billion

Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Bangladesh's overall trade deficit widened by 55.17 percent to $3.206 billion in the first eight months of this fiscal due to price hike of essential items in international markets.

"Abnormal rise in prices of most of the essential commodities in the global market and huge food grains imports are main causes for the country's higher trade deficit," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, told AHN Media Corp. in Dhaka.

The country's overall trade deficit rose to $3.206 billion in July-February period of the fiscal 2007-08 from $2.066 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.

The BB official also said the overall trade deficit may ease in the upcoming months as food grains import is expected to decline due to seasonal impact.

"Despite larger deficit in the trade balance current account balance recorded a surplus of $328 million during July-February, 2007-08 against the surplus of $558 million during July-February, 2006-07 due mainly to larger current transfers of $5.358 billion," the central bank of Bangladesh says in its Major Economic Indicators: Monthly Update for April, 2008.

The overall balance of payments, however, recorded a surplus of $222 million at the end of February, 2008 as against a surplus of $577 million during the same period of the previous fiscal due to surplus in capital account and current account of $286 million and $328 million respectively, according to the Update.