BD Economic Outlook Is More Uncertain: IMF
20 May 2009
DHAKA: The outlook for Bangladesh is more uncertain than its
immediate past economic performance would indicate, an official
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.
A number of indicators show that economic prospects are
deteriorating export orders for garments (major export earner)
have deteriorated over the past months, said Jonathan C Dunn,
the resident representative of the IMF in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh exports rose only 4.55 per cent to $1.28 billion in
March which 7 per cent below the target as demand shriveled
because of a global recession, officials said.
Demand continues to deteriorate in Bangladesh major export
markets in North America and the Europe from where about ninety
per cent of export earnings are generated, while letters of
credit (LCs) for imports have fallen quite sharply, Dunn said at
a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh.
These LC developments do not augur well for future economic
activity and export capacity, Dunn said.
Inflation is falling steadily in Bangladesh but not as much as
in other countries, and non-food inflation is of particular
concern, he said.
Inflation in February hit new low at 5.81 per cent, due to
falling prices of commodities both in the local and
international markets compared with 6.06 per cent in the
previous month.
