Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh’s overall imports increased by approximately 7.0 percent in the just-concluded fiscal year (FY25), providing an early indication of an economic rebound following months of sluggishness.
According to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the opening of fresh letters of credit (LCs), generally known as import orders, rose to $70.72 billion in FY25 from $68.77 billion in the previous fiscal year (FY24). In FY23, import orders totaled $67.63 billion.
FY25’s import orders were $1.95 billion higher than those in FY24.
Settlements against import orders increased to $71.14 billion in FY25 from $66.07 billion in FY24.
A BB official, speaking anonymously, stated that inflows of foreign currencies continued rising in recent months due to significant growth in both remittance and export earnings, bolstering the country’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves.
Therefore, the central banker noted, the banking regulator continues to allow commercial banks to import all goods. “This clearly indicates that economic activity is rebounding gradually.”
According to the BB, gross forex reserves stood at $31.68 billion (under BB’s calculation) and $26.66 billion (under IMF’s BPM6 methodology) as of June 2025.
Foreign exchange reserves increased by approximately $6.0 billion compared to the previous month, when figures were $25.80 billion (BB) and $20.54 billion (IMF) respectively.
