Scrap vessel imports drop to a 4 year low in 2022

To stabilize rice prices and boost public food stocks, the Bangladeshi government is ramping up imports, aiming to buy 1 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat each. Current rice stocks are below the recommended levels, and recent floods impacted the Aman crop. Reduced import duties are encouraging private imports, and fresh Aman harvests are expected to ease prices. The government is also in talks with India, Vietnam, and Myanmar for additional rice imports.

In September, Bangladesh's letters of credit (LC) for imports rose to $6.7 billion, up from $5.37 billion in September of the previous year. However, overall LC openings dropped 6.74% year-on-year to $15.59 billion in Q1 FY25 due to business disruptions.

In September, the settlement of import letters of credit (LCs) rose by 24% year-on-year, totaling $5.87 billion. However, for the first three months of FY25, total LC payments reached $16.21 billion, slightly lower than $16.61 billion during the same period last fiscal year.

In the first five months of India's fiscal year (April-August 2024), Bangladesh's imports from India increased by 3.9% to $4.34 billion, while exports to India declined by 6% to $767.6 million. Despite growth in bilateral trade earlier, imports from India fell by 19.43% in August amid disruptions, including political unrest in Bangladesh and a temporary trade halt at Benapole port.

In the early months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, Bangladesh has seen a decline in goods imports compared to the same period last year. During July and August, imports decreased by 6.25% to 1.98 million tons from 2.11 million tons. Despite the reduced volume, import expenditure rose by 2.45%, increasing from $1.199 billion in July-August 2023 to $1.228 billion in the same period of 2024.