Bangladesh’s trade deficit hit an all-time high at $22.8 billion in the last FY 2020-21 due to a rise in commodity prices in the global market. It swelled by US$ 17.85 billion in the previous fiscal year to show that the trade deficit is steadily growing to create a situation in which imports heavily outweighed exports and the country is heading towards a critical situation. During last fiscal year, imports increased 12.55 per cent to $60.68 billion while exports grew by 15.38 per cent to $37.88 billion.
Mentionably, import of raw materials for the garment sector was primarily responsible for the growing trade deficit. Import of machineries, intermediate goods, which include raw cotton, yarn, textile, dyeing and tanning materials alone increased the trade gap so much while export earnings also grew but not to match the exponential trade gap. Many say more imports are a sign of economic recovery. We accept the argument but there is a growing speculation as well and not unfounded that many powerful persons or business houses are using inflated import bills or bringing mock import containers to launder money abroad under the cover of import. If import bills had swelled by 17.5 billion in a single year last year when business and investment remained almost closed, how can we justify such claim that the a galloping rise in import bills resulted from growing investment and economic activities in the country.
It is true that Bangladesh does not produce basic raw materials and equipment. So we pay a higher cost for importing basic raw materials. But western importers are not giving us enough to cover basic costs. In other words we buy at a higher price but sell at a lower price. Import cost for petroleum, edible oil, rice and other food products swelled in the international market. Moreover import of Covid-19 vaccine may be yet another grey area. So since we do not have enough bargaining power to pay less or get more, we are losing at both ends as importers and exporters. Money laundering is adding to this growing trade imbalance. We are afraid if remittance declines, we will be on the tightrope. Huge reserves at Bangladesh Bank may not help us much. This is the time we must be alert against misuse of trade.
