State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said on Tuesday that there is currently a trade deficit between neighbouring countries, including India, China, and Pakistan.
He said that in the 2022–23 fiscal year, the maximum trade deficit was with China, and it amounted to $15,488.84 million ($15.48 billion).
The trade deficit with India was $7,160.81 million ($7.16 billion), with Pakistan $466.33 million, $116.21 million with Myanmar, $14.29 million trade deficit with Bhutan, and $1.49 million trade deficit with Afghanistan.
The state minister said this while responding to a written question from an independent lawmaker elected from Dhaka-19, Muhammad Saiful Islam.
He, however, said that Bangladesh has no trade deficit with Nepal, Sri Lanka, or the Maldives.
The total trade deficit of Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2022–23 was $15.49 billion, the state minister said.
In response to another written question of an independent MP elected from Sylhet, Mohammad Huchamuddin Chowdhury, the state minister said that at one time the domestic demand for tea in the country was less than the production.
“The surplus tea was exported at that time. Currently, the domestic demand for tea in the country is about 100 million kg. Production and demand are almost equal,” he said.
He said that due to the increased purchasing power, almost all the tea produced in the country is used to meet domestic demand.
“So there is not much surplus tea left for export.”
However, the state minister said that last year, in 2023, 102.92 million kg of tea were produced in the country.
“Out of that, 1.05 million kg of tea have been exported. On the other hand, only 0.6 million kg of tea was imported for re-export and manufacturing of value-added tea,” he said.
In response to a question of an independent lawmaker elected from Barisal-4 Pankaj Nath, the state minister said that initiatives have been taken to maintain an adequate supply of daily commodities in the market to keep the prices of essential commodities within the reach of common people during the month of Ramadan.