Economy
Mismatch in trade balance numbers presented in parliament
In a written response to a query by MP Pinu Khan during a question-and-answer session on Monday, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh's trade gap with China stood at $6.88 billion in FY2017.
Responding to another question by Chittagong MP MA Latif, the minister informed the House that Bangladesh's trade balance in the current fiscal year stands at $6.62 billion, less than the trade gap with China.
Official figures for FY2017 are yet to be available as the fiscal year ends on June 30, but the commerce minister came up with the figures in his written response.
Trade balance figures available on the Bangladesh Bank website, updated until the third quarter of this fiscal year, shows the trade gap at $7.03 billion, up 32 percent compared to the same period last fiscal year.
Minister Ahmed informed the House that Bangladesh maintains trade relations with 198 countries and traded with 195 of them in FY2017.
Bangladesh has a trade gap with 71 countries, with China on top of the list, followed by India, according to Ahmed's written response.
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