United News of Bangladesh

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Monday told Parliament that the country’s trade deficit increased by nearly US$ 8 billion over the five fiscal years, reaching US$ 24.16 billion in FY25 from $ 16.24 billion in FY21 for what he described as wrong policies of the previous governments. “The country’s trade deficit has widened due to wrong policies pursued by the previous governments,” he said, replying to a starred question from ruling party lawmaker Jashim Uddin Ahmed (Chattogram-14). The commerce minister said the global energy crisis, hike in prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the dollar crisis and international market conditions have also played an important role in the rise of the trade deficit. “In particular, the trade deficit has increased due to high import costs for energy, food, industrial raw materials and slow export growth,” he said. Muktadir also placed the statistics of the trade gaps of the five fiscal years from 2020-2021 to 2024-2025. According to official statistics presented by him, Bangladesh’s trade deficit stood at $16.24 billion in FY21, then rose sharply to $28.13 billion in FY22 before declining slightly to $27.18 billion in FY23, dropping further to $21.50 billion in FY24, and finally increasing to $24.16 billion in FY25. The country’s export volume was $ 45.36 billion in FY21, $ 60.97 billion in FY22, $ 53.92 billion in FY23, $ 51.11 billion in FY24 and $ 55.19 billion in FY25. Meanwhile, the import volume was $ 61.60 billion, $ 89.10 billion, $ 78.29 billion, $ 72.61 billion and $ 79.35 billion, respectively. To narrow the trade deficit, the commerce minister outlined a series of measures undertaken by the government through strengthening export performance. He said although Bangladesh exported goods to 202 countries and territories during FY2024-25, the ready-made garments (RMG) sector accounted for about 84 percent of total export earnings. To reduce dependence on a single export item, the government has taken initiative to extend RMG-like incentives to other promising export sectors, he said. Partial export-oriented companies in eight sectors – leather and leather goods, jute and jute products, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, ICT and software services, light engineering products, frozen foods and fish, and plastic products – have also been provided bond facilities against bank guarantees, Muktadir added. He said the government has launched the “One District, One Product” programme, modelled after successful programmes in Japan and Thailand, to diversify exports and accelerate region-based export activities. “Under the programme, 14 products have been identified from 64 districts,” he said. The minister also highlighted the government’s initiatives to sign free trade agreements (FTA) with several countries, including Malaysia, Türkiye and New Zealand. Besides, the 3rd round of negotiation between Bangladesh and Singapore is scheduled to be held in Dhaka in August 2026 to sign an FTA between the two countries, he said.

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Wednesday called on the World Bank (WB) to extend support in developing trade negotiation skills among Bangladesh's trade officials, emphasising that human resource development is as critical as infrastructure investment in strengthening the country's global competitiveness. "To ensure effective participation in the international trading system, it is essential to build skilled manpower in trade negotiation, trade law, WTO regulations and modern trade management," he said during a meeting with WB Operations Manager Gayle Martin at the Commerce Ministry. The meeting covered ongoing collaboration between the ministry and the global lender, focusing on capacity building, skilled human resource development and modernisation of the trade sector. The minister specifically sought WB assistance in three areas: trade negotiation skill development for ministry officials, establishing a strong resource pool for the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI), and building practical expertise in trade law and WTO affairs. He also pointed out that despite large-scale projects being implemented under various donor agencies and government funding, adequate initiatives to enhance the capacity of project directors have remained largely absent. World Bank Operations Manager Gayle Martin described the EC4J project, currently being implemented by the Commerce Ministry, as a successful initiative and assured continued support. "World Bank programmes in Bangladesh place special emphasis on job creation, productivity enhancement and value creation to generate long-term positive impact on the national economy." Commerce Ministry Secretary (Routine Duty) Md Abdur Rahim Khan was also present at the meeting.

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Tuesday warned that the government will not tolerate any attempt to create artificial crisis or manipulate market, saying no group or individual will be allowed to hold the market hostage. “This is a country of 180 million people. No group or individual can take the market hostage,” he said while speaking to reporters after a meeting of the task force on commodity prices and market situation at the Ministry of Commerce. Fuel price hike ‘modest’, unlikely to accelerate inflation: Muktadir The minister said the current global situation, particularly the conflict in the Middle East, has created pressure on fuel and supply chains. “The government is closely monitoring the situation and the import flow remains stable.” Responding to a question about soybean oil supply, he said although the supply of bottled oil is somewhat limited, loose oil is available in sufficient quantity. “The government is also monitoring any attempt to charge prices beyond the fixed rate and will take necessary action.” On inflation, Muktadir said any unreasonable price hike or creation of artificial shortages is unacceptable. Addressing traders, he said the market cannot be influenced through speculation and prices must be set based on the actual impact of increased fuel costs. The minister urged businesspeople and other stakeholders to have confidence in the government, adding that efforts are underway to introduce a stable pricing mechanism to ensure a more balanced market in the future.