Opening of LCs for importing food-grain has seen a sudden surge to meet domestic demands, the rate of opening LCs has risen by 152.78 percent compared to last year, says a Bangladesh Bank report.
Bangladesh Bank says that in July, 2018, LC’s worth $67.5 million were opened which stood at $178 million in July 2019.
The central bank says that the settlement of LCs has fallen by 40 percent. In July, 2018, LC’s worth $156.3 million were settled whereas in July 2019, the amount stood at $9.34 million.
In last June, growth in import trade was minus 8.83 percent while this was minus 8.45 in May.
In June, 2019, import expenditure was $4.26 billion while in June 2019, it was $ 3.88 billion.
Researcher at Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies (BIDS) Dr Zaid Bakht, said: “While more LCs have been opened, the rate of settlement has not; therefore we cannot say food-grain import has risen. For that, we need to wait till next month.”
“To get a clear picture, we need to wait another month,” he added.