TRADE deficit in external trade crossed US$10 billion-mark for the first time in fiscal 2014-15 on the back of a widening mismatch between exports and imports. As per provisional trade figures released by Bangladesh Bank and carried out by several national dailies on Sunday the country’s imports were recorded last year at $41.29 billion as against export receipts of $31.19 billion. It shows exports grew by only 3.37 percent while imports hit a record level rise by 11.49 percent to take the external trade deficit to a new height. The trade deficit may further aggravate to 13.42 billion in the current fiscal, the forecast said. The most noticeable is that import of capital machinery alone recorded rise by 23 percent last year which is not however corroborated by investment activities on the ground and it clearly suggests that huge money laundering is taking place under fictitious imports. The suspicion further aggravates when the import of industrial raw materials reported at 3.10 percent shows the big gap between the import of capital machinery and industrial raw materials that is needed to run the industries. To our surprise, the phenomenal rise in import of capital machinery is not physically visible in industrial activities. Former Finance Adviser to the caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam, was quoted by a national daily as saying, this high growth in the import of capital machinery is very suspicious when investment remains dull in risky business climate. There is no reason for higher import of capital machinery when the import of industrial raw material remains at such low. The question is: Where this money is going? He feared large scale money laundering may be taking place now by powerful business houses using over-invoicing and false import documents and asked the government to investigate into the matter. In our view had there been so much new investments in industries it would have been reflected on exports but that is not the case when exports are only nose-diving as imports of capital machinery is rising. The mystery must be investigated. This is entirely a misleading statistics and the most plausible answer is that huge money – may be some billions of dollars — is moving out of the country every year by powerful people using political protection. This money is spilling up in foreign banks like in the recent Swiss Banks stories on Bangladeshi nationals said to amply bear out the truth.The country’s foreign exchange reserves is now projected at $26 billion to show that there will be no immediate pressure on import bills settlement. But the question is the proper utilization of the reserves for socio-economic development, not just to foot the fictitious import bills to facilitate money laundering.
