Imports of capital machinery in the country slightly rose in the first six months of FY24, after the downturn that persisted for nearly one and a half year amid political uncertainty, while exporters are hoping for increased orders from western buyers.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, businesses opened letters of credit (LCs) worth $1.34 billion to import capital machinery in the July-December period of this fiscal, 1% higher year-on-year.
During the July-November period of this fiscal year, LC openings for capital machinery imports were 17% lower compared to the same period of FY23 as entrepreneurs did not get adequate amounts of dollars from banks in the face of a perennial dollar shortage in the country for nearly two years.
Data from the central bank showed that LC openings for imports of capital machinery for RMG, packaging and other industries increased in the July-December period of FY24 compared to a year ago.
For example, exporters opened $142 million worth of LCs to import garment machinery during this period, compared to $128 million in July-December period of FY23.
LC openings for packaging machinery imports surged to $29 million in six months to the end of December 2023 from just $1.7 million a year ago.
