Trade deficit stood at Tk 129,150 cr

Staff Correspondent: Despite the remittance and export earnings have increased slightly, the amount of trade deficit is also increasing. In the first six months (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2022-23, the trade deficit in the country stood at $1,230 billion. At 105 taka per dollar in Bangladeshi currency, the amount is Tk 129,150 crore. This trade deficit occurs because import expenditure is higher than export earnings. This information has come out in the latest updated report of Bangladesh Bank.
According to the updated report of Bangladesh Bank on February 5, in the first six months (July-December) of the current fiscal year, goods worth $3,813 million have been imported. On the contrary, products worth $2,583 million have been exported. The amount of trade deficit is $1,230 billion.
According to the report, at the end of last December, the country earned $4.55 billion in the service sector. On the other hand, the country has spent $650 million in the service sector. In this, the service sector deficit stands at $195 million. The deficit was $1.68 billion during the same period in the previous financial year. It is good for any developing country to have a current account surplus. However, Bangladesh’s current account balance has become negative.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, at the end of December of the current financial year, the amount of this deficit stood at $527 million. In the same period of the previous financial year, this deficit was $829 million. Meanwhile, the overall trade deficit at the end of December was $7.16 billion. In the same period of the previous financial year, which amounted to $179 million. On the other hand, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country has increased during the same period. In the first six months (July-December) of the fiscal year 2021-22, Bangladesh received $232 million in FDI. In the same period of the current financial year, it has increased to $2.62 billion.
It should be noted that before this, Bangladesh fell into a deficit in the balance of trade in the fiscal year 2020-21. It ended the year with a deficit of nearly $4 billion. Earlier, the fiscal year 2019-20 ended with a huge surplus of $9.27 billion. The surplus in 2018-19 was $3.17 billion.