Import from China drops by 70pc during last 3 months

Imports from China have dropped by about 70 percent in the last three months due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has become a global pandemic.

China is the single largest destination of imports for Bangladesh as the country imports from raw materials for factories, consumer goods to industrial equipment.

Reviewing the import-export data of Bangladesh Bank and the port, it has been seen that the 18,500 Letters of Credit (LCs), opened in last December to import goods from China, stood worth of 2,062 million US dollars. Last March, the number of those LCs was reduced to 10,500.

The amount of goods imported from China against LCs was worth 603.30 million dollars — a drop by almost three-fourths in three months. During these three months, both the number of LCs and the quantity of imports have decreased.

Not only the number of new LCs decreased but the amount of payment for goods coming through LC has also come down.

Last December, Bangladesh paid the liabilities of 20,700 LCs. The total amount of liabilities in these LCs was 921.20 million dollars. And last March, it paid only 329.00 million dollars against 8,800 LCs, which is about one-third more than last December.

Meanwhile, the number of new LC openings and the number of imports have been declining since January after last December. According to responsible sources, the number of new LCs was 15,490 in January, 9,595 in February and 10,500 in March. The value of imported goods against these LCs was 1276.40 million dollars in January, 577 million in February and 603.30 million in March.

Bangladesh has imported raw materials of ready-made garments and leather and leather products, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods from China.

About 85 percent of the raw materials for some local industries come from China.

Bangladesh also depends upon the country for 17 essentials such as garlic, ginger, salt, lentils, gram, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Besides, medical instruments and hospital equipment are also imported from China.

At present, Bangladesh imports goods worth an average of Tk 3.5 lakh crore from different countries every year. The largest bulk comes from 20 countries. And China is the prime import destination for Bangladesh with 25 percent of its total imports.

Incidentally, the coronavirus first surfaced in Wuhan in China last December.

To prevent the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese government shut down all industrial plants. When the situation took a terrible turn, China imposed a lockdown and people became isolated in their own homes. As a result, from January to March, limited quantities of goods came to Bangladesh from the country under special arrangements. In the deep sea, each mother vessel has to wait up to 14 days. The goods are unloaded after the disinfection of ships and crew, a Bangladesh Bank official told The Business Post.

The official also said, “But now even if China can export the products, Bangladesh cannot import them. An unannounced lockdown is now in place in Bangladesh due to the spread of coronavirus, forcing economic activities come to a standstill.”

ask/wi/teb