Bangladesh imports pharmaceutical products from 72 countries, with India topping the list as the largest source of imported medicines worth Tk1,227.40 crore in the fiscal year 2025-26, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir told Parliament on Sunday.
He said this in a scripted reply to a question from opposition Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Abdul Gafur (Kushtia-2) in the House.
The minister placed a list of the top 20 countries from which Bangladesh imported the highest value of pharmaceutical products during the last fiscal year of 2025-2026.
According to the list, Bangladesh imported medicines worth Tk590.91 crore from France, Tk374.25 crore from China, Tk256.93 crore from Germany, Tk250.18 crore from Belgium, Tk234.33 crore from the United States and Tk224.09 crore from the Netherlands.
The other major sources included Switzerland (Tk165.50 crore), South Korea (Tk163.05 crore), Italy (Tk159.76 crore), Brazil (Tk159.60 crore), Hungary (Tk120.38 crore), Denmark (Tk93.02 crore), Spain (Tk79.51 crore), Portugal (Tk78.05 crore), the United Kingdom (Tk42.79 crore), Sweden (Tk38.11 crore), Turkey (Tk32.99 crore), Argentina (Tk30.14 crore) and Singapore (Tk23.43 crore).
In reply to another question from independent lawmaker Mohammad Salman Omer (Mymensingh-1), the commerce minister said Bangladesh exported pharmaceutical products worth $238.49 million during the fiscal year 2025-26.
He said Bangladeshi medicines were exported to a wide range of countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania.
The minister also outlined several government initiatives to increase exports of pharmaceuticals and other products.
He said Bangladesh's export earnings remained heavily dependent on the readymade garment (RMG) sector, which accounts for 84% of the country's total export earnings.
To reduce dependence on a single export sector, the government has taken initiatives to extend facilities similar to those enjoyed by the RMG industry to other promising export sectors, he said.
Besides, bonded warehouse facilities have been extended to partially exporting companies in 18 sectors against bank guarantees, the minister said, adding that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) had already issued a government order in this regard.