Bangladesh trade deficit exceeds $19bn as imports rise and exports fall

Trade imbalance surges 24 percent year-on-year, though current account pressure shows signs of easing

Bangladesh’s trade deficit has surpassed the $19 billion mark in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal year, driven by a surge in imports and a simultaneous slump in export earnings.

According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank, the trade gap for the July-March period of the 2025-26 fiscal year reached $19.17 billion.

This represents a 24.14 percent increase compared with the same period in the 2024-25 fiscal year, when the deficit stood at $15.45 billion.

The widening gap marks a shift from the previous fiscal year, during which the ousted Awami League administration and the initial interim government maintained austerity measures on imports to manage the dollar crisis.

As those restrictions eased, rising import costs coupled with a significant hit to export income have pushed the deficit upward once again.

Central bank statistics released on Wednesday regarding the Balance of Payments (BoP) show that the country spent $51.56 billion on imports during these nine months -- a 4.6 percent increase from the $49.31 billion recorded during the same period last year.

In contrast, export earnings fell to $32.38 billion, marking a 4.4 percent decline from the previous year’s corresponding figure.

Historical data shows that the trade deficit had been on a downward trend recently, shrinking by 9 percent to $20.45 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

This followed deficits of $22.43 billion in 2023-24 and a record $27.38 billion in 2022-23.

Despite the widening trade gap in goods, central bank officials noted that the deficit in the current account balance is showing signs of moderate improvement, providing some cushion to the overall foreign exchange volatility.