Bangladesh - Foreign trade



Since independence, Bangladesh has had a strongly negative trade balance. Imports steadily ran more than double the value of exports between 1971 and 1991. With a surge in export growth since 1991, the trade deficit has improved; imports exceeded exports by about 56% in 1996, and by 62% in 1997 as opposed to more than 120% in 1989/90. Trade relations with the United States remain excellent. As a result of successful export promotion measures undertaken by the government during the 1980s, exports of ready-made-garments and knitwear are now Bangladesh's leading earner of foreign exchange.

The garment and textile industry garners the highest percentage of Bangladesh's export commodities, including undergarments, women's and men's outerwear, leather, hats, and yarn (85%). At the mouth of the Ganges, fish and crustaceans are also harvested and exported (5.6%).

In 1998 Bangladesh's imports were distributed among the following categories:

Bangladesh

Consumer goods 4.6%
Food 14.3%
Fuels 7.4%
Industrial supplies 56.4%
Machinery 13.1%
Transportation 4.0%
Other 0.2%

Principal trading partners in 1998 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:

Bangladesh

COUNTRY EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE
United States 1,993 303 1,690
Germany 449 182 267
France 448 97 351
United Kingdom 371 256 115
Italy 274 76 198
Netherlands 227 73 154
Canada 153 114 39
Japan 124 479 -355
China (inc. Hong Kong) 106 1,125 -1,109
Australia 33 194 -161
India 10 1,041 -1,031
Also read article about Bangladesh from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

1
Brittney
Hi, I'm Brittney.
I am currently in an M.U.N (Model United Nations) program and I am the the delegate of Bangladesh and I want to know, what is the trade balance/deficit of Bangladesh 2007? or anything known most recently.
Thank You.

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