AKM Zamir Uddin

Bangladesh’s imports rose sharply in the first 11 months of last fiscal year as the economy enjoyed a turnaround for the time being following the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Between July and May last fiscal year, overall imports stood at $58.62 billion, up 17.31 per cent from a year ago, showed Bangladesh Bank data.

Meanwhile, import payments declined 11 per cent year-on-year to $49.97 billion.

Analysts say that the country’s domestic demand and exports started to rebound since the first quarter of last year, which subsequently continued until at least May.

They feared that the pace of recovery of the economy might face a major disruption due to the recent wave of the pandemic.

In addition, commodity prices have been rising in the global market fuelled by demand after the virus was somewhat contained by a majority of countries in North America and West Europe.

Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said import had increased mainly riding on domestic demand and higher export orders by foreign buyers.

The trend was considered a good sign for the country but the recent spread of the pandemic may deal a blow to the economic recovery, he said.

Import of raw cotton, which is mainly used in the export-oriented readymade garment industries, stood at $2.83 billion in the first 11 months of last fiscal year, up 5.34 per cent from one year ago.

Yarn imports grew 18 per cent to $2.08 billion while that of textile and articles dropped 0.26 per cent to $5.83 billion. Rahman said the import of foodgrain increased as the government had catered a good quantity of rice to the poor to offset the economic hardship stemming from the pandemic.

Import of foodgrain, meaning rice and wheat, stood at $25 billion in the 11 months, up 60 per cent year-on-year. Import payments for petroleum products also increased 45 per cent year-on-year to $5.46 billion.

The price of petroleum products has been recently maintaining an upward trend in the global market, compelling Bangladesh to spend more funds to import the product, Rahman said.