The country’s exports and imports fell significantly in the year 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic that swept across the world halting economic activities for months.
Exports declined by 14.57 percent in calendar year 2020 and stood at US dollars 33.61 billion, down from USD 39.34 billion a year ago, according to Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Stability Report-2020.
Imports fell by 16.79 percent to USD 45.78 billion in CY20 from USD 55.02 billion in CY19.
The first lockdown in March 2020 caused unprecedented disruption in economic activities leading cancellation or postponement of export orders worth billions of dollars between March and May. Many factories in the garment sector, which accounts for 80 percent of the country’s export earnings, were in danger of being shut down.
Besides, many industries were struggling to import raw materials from their traditional sources to make finished products because of disruptions in international freight service caused by the pandemic. Many industries also suffered from decline in demand for their products due to Covid-19.
RMG export to the European Union (EU), which holds the lion’s share of the RMG market, fell by 16.3 percent, while it slid by 15.8 percent in the USA, the second-largest destination of the country’s RMG products. In all other countries it plunged by 20.4 percent.
Imports by Bangladesh also slowed significantly in the year 2020.
According to BB statistics, imports fell by 16.79 percent to USD 45.78 billion in CY20 from USD 55.02 billion a year ago.
China, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and the USA had been the country’s main sources of imports.
Imports from China, the largest trading partner of Bangladesh, fell by 15.8 percent in CY20, while that from India, the second-largest source of imports, declined by 24.2 percent. The fall in import growth from Singapore in was the highest 45 percent.
Imports from the USA, however, increased by almost 20 percent in CY20.
Md Fazlul Haque vice president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) & Managing Director of Ahmed Group told The News Times that everything had been stagnant in the country due to Covid-19 pandemic. The wheels of the economy almost stopped during the months-long lockdown enforced by the government to check the spread of coronavirus.
The lockdown had a devastating effect on the garment industry, which also struggled to import essential raw materials from abroad due to disruptions in international communication.
He said Vietnam has overtaken Bangladesh in garment exports because of the lockdown-induced downtrend in economic activities. Vietnam had been one of the least affected countries during the pandemic, as they handled it with strong hand, he added.
Md Amin Helaly vice-president of The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry told The News Times that the country’s main export destinations had been the European Union and USA, which which hit hard by Covid-19. This is one of the factors that affected Bangladesh’s exports significantly, he noted.
He, however, said this time (in 2021) we have a lot of orders for RMG in hand and the country is expected to recoup the loss caused by the pandemic last year.
