Bangladesh’s trade deficit, the gap between what it buys and sells abroad, widened by 17.44 percent in the July-January period of fiscal year 2025-26, due mainly to higher imports and weaker export earnings.

Bangladesh’s trade deficit widened by 46.4 per cent year-on-year to $1.98 billion in July, but it was far below than the monthly average recorded in the last fiscal year, an encouraging sign for the economy.  

Bangladesh’s trade deficit hit a historic high of $30.81 billion in the first 11 months of the 2021-22 fiscal year, intensifying the pressure on the macroeconomic zone.

Bangladesh’s trade deficit shot up 53 per cent year-on-year to $27.5 billion in the July-April period of the current fiscal year as the surge in imports continued against lower export receipts, exceeding last year’s total shortfall.