TDS Desk:

Bangladesh’s exports grew in July 2025, the first month of the current fiscal year, but contracted for five straight months through December. Import costs rose during the period, widening the July–December trade deficit to over $11.55 billion.

The Bangladesh Bank on February 9 published data on the balance of payments (BoP), specifically the current account balance for the six-month period from July to December. It shows the deficit stood at $11.55 billion in the first half of FY 2025–26, compared with $9.76 billion in the same period a year earlier, an increase of roughly $1.79 billion. The deficit in the services sector also widened by more than $570 million.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), export growth in July was 24.90 percent. Exports then contracted in each of the following five months: by 2.93 percent in August, 4.61 percent in September, 7.43 percent in October, 5.54 percent in November and 14.25 percent in December.

Central bank data cited in the report adds that goods exports totalled $22.32 billion in the first half of the previous fiscal year. In the same period of the ongoing fiscal year, they amounted to $22.12 billion, representing negative growth of 0.9 percent.

While the country’s exports fell in the first half, imports rose 5 percent. Import costs reached $33.67 billion in the July–December period of the current fiscal year, up from $32.08 billion in the same period of 2024–25.

Despite negative export growth, remittances surged. Inflows totalled $16.26 billion in the first six months, an 18 percent increase from $13.77 billion a year earlier.

Buoyed by stronger remittance inflows, the current account balance remained relatively comfortable despite the wider trade deficit. Foreign exchange reserves have also stabilised at $33.18 billion, according to Bangladesh Bank ($28.57 billion under the BPM6 calculation method).

Despite the wider trade deficit, the overall balance of payments posted a $1.94 billion surplus in the first half, a sharp turnaround from a $460 million deficit in the same period last year. The financial account also improved markedly, recording a $2.04 billion surplus compared with $520 million a year earlier. The surplus was driven primarily by foreign direct investment, foreign grants and loans.