Impact on Bangladesh economy:
- Cost of electricity, gas, oil and transportation has gone up tremendously.
- Bangladesh export will lose its competitiveness further.
- With diminishing export competitiveness FDI prospect will be less attractive.
- With rising production and transport cost Bangladesh export will be expansive and will suffer in competition.
- Increasing cost and decreasing competitiveness will open the door for flooding with Indian products.
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Trade deficit swells to $5.19b in 5 months
image A file photo shows employees working at a garment factory in Dhaka. The countrys trade deficit soared by 30.69 per cent to $5.19 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of 2010-11 financial year. New Age
Exchange rate of dollar hits Tk 83-mark
Aminul Islam and AKM Zamir Uddin
The countrys trade deficit soared by 30.69 per cent to $5.19 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of 2010-11 financial year putting further pressure on foreign exchange reserve and value of taka.
The exchange rate of taka against dollar hit a new record of Tk 83.30 in inter-bank trading on Wednesday, slipping almost every day since October 14 because of shortage of the greenbacks.
According to a provisional data of Bangladesh Bank released on Wednesday, the countrys import payment surged to $14.90 billion against exports worth $9.70 billion in July-November in the current 2011-12 fiscal year.
The trade gap was $3.97 billion in July-November in 2010-11 financial year whereas the total trade gap that fiscal year was $ 7.328 billion, a record high.
Bangladesh Bank officials said that despite the fall in import of food grains in the first five months of the current fiscal year the trade gap soared mainly because of huge import of fuel oils by the government for the costly rental power plants.
BB data showed that import grew by 21.65 per cent, export by 17.33 per cent while 9.28 per cent in July-November this financial year compared to the same period of the previous year.
The high growth in import has put tremendous pressure on the forex reserve, brining down the total reserve to $9.59 billion on Tuesday from $11.32 billion in March, 2011, said a BB official.
The Bangladeshi currency, taka, that has been taking a beating against dollar has so far lost around 15 per cent in value in last one year.
BB data showed that settlement of letters of credit for import of food grains decreased by 22.63 per cent during July-November to $3.58 billion from $4.63 billion during the same period of the last financial year.
But LC settlement for fuel import soared by 92.44 per cent to $ 2.20 billion in the first five months of the current financial year compared to that of the corresponding period of the last FY2010-11.
BB data showed that the indicative exchange rate of dollar hovered around Tk 82 on Wednesday while the rate in inter-bank exchange went up to Tk 83.30 as One Bank sold one dollar with that rate.
On trade deficit, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakht told New Age on Wednesday although the countrys trade balance remained negative all the time, the deficit this fiscal was beyond tolerable level.
The situation occurred as high import growth, especially fuel oil import, could not be covered by less-than-expected export and remittance growth, he said.
Besides, he said, the inflow of foreign loans and grants remained low this fiscal year. The government needs to negotiate strongly with foreign lenders to get desired loans as the export might not grow to the expected level because of global economic crisis, he said.
New Age | Newspaper