# Average import expenditure was $5.87b in January, $5.20b in February & $5.10b in March
With the declining rate of reserve, there is a new worry rise as the average import expenditure was continuously declining in the current fiscal year.
Just two and a half years ago, where the reserve was 48.06 billion dollars, the current expendable reserve stands at 14.07 billion.
According to international standards, it is necessary to have the ability to meet at least three months of import expenses with a country's reserves. In such a situation, there is anxiety and panic about the reserve. Not only that, Bangladesh Bank (BB) repeatedly failed to meet the reserve target set by International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the data, the average import expenditure was $5.87 billion in January, $5.20 billion in February and $5.10 billion in March, respectively.
According to central bank data, $44.48 billion worth of letters of credit (LCs) were opened for import of goods in the eight months from July to February this year. On average, it is $ 5.56 billion a month.
Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) Ahsan H Mansur said the IMF team will focus on fiscal policy this time. And in the name of bank reform, banks can object to the merger. In addition, it may seek a detailed plan of why the reserve is not increasing, why the target is not being met and how to increase the reserve in the future. They will also see what kind of policy measures are being taken with the loan program. Apart from the IMF, loans are also being taken from other international organizations in foreign currency. But it is ending up to meet the cost of importing oil and gas. As a result, the reserve is no longer increasing.
According to the BB, it sold more than $10 billion in the first nine months of the current 2023-24 fiscal year. At the same time, some commercial banks bought as much as $1 billion. In addition, Bangladesh Bank has mortgaged another $ 2.7 billion from commercial banks through the swap system. It sold $13.58 billion in 2022-23 and $7.62 billion in the previous fiscal year.
After receiving two installments of the IMF's $4.7 billion loan, the third installment is expected to be paid. But the net reserve of Bangladesh has not improved. In view of such a reality, a special team of the IMF is coming to Dhaka today to review the terms of the loan. The meeting will continue till May 8.
According to the IMF, Bangladesh formally sought exemption from the IMF to reduce the reserve reserve target as a condition of the loan, the organization approved the second installment after approving it. According to the conditions, the new target of reserve conservation was set at 17.78 billion dollars at the end of December. However, the actual reserve till December was 16.75 billion dollars. And at the end of March, the actual reserve was supposed to be 19.26 billion dollars, but in reality it was about 15 billion dollars. In June last year, the target was $23.7 billion, but the actual reserve was $19.5 billion.
ZH
