Imports

An import is any good or service brought into one country from another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Import goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers. An import in the receiving country is an export to the sending country. Imports, along with exports, form the basis of international trade. Import of goods normally requires involvement of the Customs authorities in both the country of import and the country of export and is often subject to import quotas, tariffs and trade agreements. when the "imports" are the set of goods and services imported, "Imports" also means the economic value of all goods and services that are imported. The macroeconomic variable I usually stands for the value of these imports over a given period of time, usually one year.

Bangladesh Imports
Bangladesh Imports were worth 2910 Million USD in June of 2011. Bangladesh imports mostly petroleum product and oil, machinery and parts, soybean and palm oil, raw cotton, iron and steel and wheat. Bangladesh main imports partners are China (17% of total), India, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. This page includes a chart with historical data for Bangladesh's Imports.

This Graph is followed ( 1995 - 2005 )

Rice :: Bangladesh, South Asias biggest rice buyer, doubled its import target for this year
to cool domestic prices that surged to a record in December as consumers and farmers hoarded supplies, a government official said. Recent relese data the bangladesh import target was raised to 1.2 million metric tons for the year ending June 30, from 600,000 tons set in November, said Badrul Hasan, director for procurement at the nations Directorate General of Food. Rising imports by Bangladesh may help push world prices higher, with global demand

forecast by the USDA to exceed production for the first time in four years and as soaring costs of other staples like wheat fuel social unrest. Rough-rice futures in Chicago surged to a record in 2008 as hoarding by consumers prompted governments including the Philippines to boost imports, while exporters such as India and Vietnam restricted shipments. Governments are now playing in the market, as they did three years ago, said Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Sydney-based Commodity Broking Services Pty., who correctly predicted rice futures would advance to $15 last year. That panic and their inability to understand how the market works will continue to be supportive of prices, he said.

Import Restrictions:
The bangladesh government has moved to reduce the number of items on its list of banned imports and has eliminated the need for import licenses. However, some products are still banned from importation, including certain maps, obscene materials, socially or religiously offensive items, all types of wastes, and substandard or rejected goods, as well as all imports from South Africa or Israel. All commercial importers are issued pass books in which their import authorizations are validated. The issuance of a pass book is a formality for items not on the controlled or restricted lists. Pass books are valid for 12 months.

Import Duties:
Despite some recent reductions, tariffs in Bangladesh remain high, averaging over 50 percent. At the recommendation of the World Bank, Bangladesh has placed a 100 percent tariff ceiling on most goods, with the intention of bringing the ceiling down to 60 percent in fiscal year 1993-94. A value-added tax (VAT) of 10 to 20 percent and additional fees, typically adding up to 15 percent of the cost and freight value, are also applied to imports. Duties are reduced to 2.5 percent for installation of imported machinery in less developed areas. Duties are also reduced to 2.5 percent for capital machinery and factories which use 70 percent or more indigenous materials and for imported machinery for export-oriented industries. Exemptions from duties and the import sales tax are available for a variety of goods.

Documentation:
Documentation required for commercial shipments to Bangladesh include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, an insurance certificate that must be underwritten by the Sadaran Bima Corporation or any Bangladesh insurance company, and pro forma invoice. A certificate of origin may be requested.

Agriculture import sector in Bangladesh

Agriculture is the single most important sector of Bangladesh's economy. Over 80% of the population is engaged in agriculture (70% of the labour force). 57% of the labour force is engaged in the crop sector which represents about 78% of the value addition in the agricultural sector and more than 50% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. The share of agriculture in GDP has fallen from around 57% in the 1970s to 20% in the last few years. It is also the source of many of the small industrial sector's raw materials, such as jute, and accounts for 10% of the value of all exports. In short, agriculture is one of the driving forces behind economic growth in Bangladesh and, as a result, increasing food and agriculture production have always been major concerns of Bangladeshi policy-makers. With the current economic crisis in the world, food insecurity remains an important issue in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's major crops include: rice, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit, beef, milk, and poultry. Rice, with an average 70% share of the gross output value of all crops leads the table. As a result, growth in the agricultural sector essentially mirrors the performance of rice production, although the share of livestock and fisheries has increased steadily in recent years to 22% of the value added in agriculture. Bangladesh's dependence on food imports and, in particular, food aid throughout the years has been a cause for concern. Assuming normal weather conditions, Bangladesh's food grain production in 2010-11 is forecasted to be around 33.3 million tons (32.3 million tons of rice and 1.0 million tons of wheat), up 2 percent from current productions. Imports of food grains are predicted to include 400,000 tons of rice and 2.5 million tons of wheat. In 2009, agri-food imports in Bangladesh represented approximately $1.10B, 4.7% of total imports ($20.53B) and absorb about 10% of total export earnings. The import figure may increase based on country's production year to year. Natural disaster (floods in particular) may cause abnormal increases in imports to the agribusiness sector. The government legislation for agricultural products changes with the country's production and import

requirements. For example, the government currently allows tax free import of wheat and pulses due to a significant shortage between demand and level of local production. The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) estimates the future requirement for food grains to be about 45 million tonnes in 2030 compared to 33 million tonnes in 201011. Total Bangladesh/Canada agricultural trade was valued at over $542 million in 2009, representing over 86% of Canadian exports to Bangladesh and 38% of total trade between the two countries. Top Canadian agricultural exports to Bangladesh were wheat valued at $246 million accounting over 45% of all agri-food exports, and pulses and peas at $242 million or 44% of total agri-food exports. Bangladesh imports large quantities of wheat as it is a staple of the Bangladeshi diet. Consistent demand in this commodity represents an excellent opportunity for Canadian wheat exporters to increase sales. Ukraine and Russia together were Bangladesh's largest wheat suppliers, accounting for over 50% of Bangladesh's wheat imports. Other wheat suppliers include the US, Australia and Argentina. No. 2 Canada Western Red Spring wheat is already established in the market; a variety popular due to its price and quality. The 2009/10 wheat crop, currently in its vegetative stage, is enjoying favorable weather conditions and is estimated to produce 1 million tons from 400,000 hectares of land. Assuming normal weather conditions, wheat production in 2010/11 is forecast at 1.02 million tons with cultivated area remaining the same. Wheat consumption in 2009/10 is estimated at 3.4 million tons, up by about 10 percent from 2008/09. Wheat consumption by middle and high income populations in the urban areas is growing steadily due to changes in food habits and the growth in the hospitality industry. The growing bakery sector is also contributing to the increase in wheat consumption. While coarse wheat flour, known as Atta, is sold in bulk in rural areas, urban millers are marketing packaged refined wheat flour under brand names. In 2010 wheat imports are forecasted to be 2.5 million tons consisting of 500,000 tons public sector imports and 2 million tons private commercial imports. The public sector procurement in Bangladesh is based on price competition therefore suppliers from Ukraine enjoy the greatest success in this procurement. In contrast, the private sector sources much of its wheat from Canada, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. If India continues their wheat export ban, demand for Canadian wheat will remain strong this year as well. Pulses are a very important dietary component of the people of Bangladesh. The major types of pulses grown are lathyrus, lentil, chickpeas, mungbean and blackgram. Pulses are Canada's second largest export to Bangladesh. In 2009, Canada exported over 0.6 million MT of pulses (125,860 MT Red Lentils and 475,000 MT Yellow Peas) worth of over $242 million. Consumption of pulses has been growing faster than local production and has resulted in an increasing amount of pulse crops imported into the country. Canada is the leading supplier of Red lentils and Yellow peas to Bangladesh. Due to the lack of interest by farmers to grow lentils, planted acres have fallen in the last five years at an alarming rate. It is expected that the acreage will continue to shrink further and eventually make Bangladesh a net lentil importing country. According to the last available statistics, Bangladesh produced 115,000 MT of red lentils in 2007. The main sources of supply of pulses in to Bangladesh are Australia, Turkey, Syria, India and Nepal.

India has recently banned all their pulse export to Bangladesh and if this ban continues in the next year, Bangladesh will continue to import pulses from Canada. Oilseeds are Canada's third largest export item to Bangladesh. In 2009, Canada exported over $54 million of oilseeds (canola and master seeds) to Bangladesh. Ukraine, France and Russia are Canada's main competitor for oilseed in the market here. Wheat, pulses and oilseeds imports are currently duty free. There is also no quantitative restriction on imports of these items. The possibility of natural disasters is a constant threat for Bangladesh. The country is particularly vulnerable to sudden floods, cyclones and even droughts. Agriculture growth in 2009/2010 is likely to remain strong due to favourable conditions. However, vulnerability to natural disasters, a heavy reliance on annual rains and adequate supplies of fertilizer for crop performance result in severe fluctuations in food grain production and prices as well as very erratic GDP growth. Bangladesh has an agriculture-dependent economy with a growing population and one of the world's lowest land areas per capita. Not surprisingly, the most important issue in Bangladesh agriculture is to enhance and sustain growth in crop production, the most pressing problem is therefore the current state of stagnating yields and declining productivity in a range of food and non-food crops. Projections of food grain supply and demand are consistent in their conclusions that there is a widening food grain supply gap. With negligible scope for area expansion, as most of the arable lands of Bangladesh are already under cultivation, future growth will have to continue to rely on raising productivity per unit of land. For this reason, continuous efforts are being made towards developing new improved seed varieties. It is also felt that the agricultural sector has by no means exploited its full potential for crop production and that there are various opportunities for substantially increasing cropping intensities. Currently only 45 percent of the potential irrigated area is covered by modern varieties and, most important, there are wide gaps between the potential and the realized yields for all crops in the country.

2. Market and Sector Challenges (Strengths and Weaknesses)

The overriding objective of all agricultural policy and development since independence in Bangladesh has been to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains and, in particular, rice production. In reality, what has actually been sought is a substantial acceleration in the growth rate of domestic food production and a decreased dependence on or elimination of food aid in the long term. The emphasis on accelerating food production in Bangladesh stems from the country's excessive dependence on food imports, its precarious external account situation and its perceived comparative advantage in food production. Although Bangladesh continues to be a net importer of food, importing on an average 1.0 million tonnes of rice and 2.0 million tonnes of wheat annually, it has achieved substantial gains in food grain production during the last two decades. Demand for some agro-based products depends on various climatic factors. Bumper crops may see food imports drop, however the import of cotton, pulse crops and oilseeds are showing ongoing upward trends. Until the early 1990s, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (a government-owned trading house) and the Ministry of Food were the main importers of agro-based commodities. Now, the private sector in Bangladesh has become the largest agro-food importer in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi buyers are price-sensitive but are also quality-conscious buyers. Canadian products are well accepted in Bangladesh for their quality. Bangladesh agribusiness opportunities include exporting wheat, oilseeds and pulses. Bangladesh is predominantly a

buyer of inexpensive lower quality wheat. India is the preferred origin due to low price and low freight cost. Import of any food item requires a phytosanitary certificate from Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) that includes a fumigation certificate. Under the current Canadian law fumigation of commodities can't be carried out in Canada. CFIA has already launched a bilateral negotiation with the Bangladesh authorities to solve this issue. In the meanwhile, the authorities in Bangladesh have taken a special measure to physically inspect Canadian exported commodities in the port and decide their entry after their examination based on the fact that it is free from pests, insects, larva and others. This is an interim measure which was taken until the bilateral negotiation has come to a solution. A radiation certificate is also required with all imports from the Canadian Grain Commission. Pre-shipment inspection through Intertek Testing is mandatory for any export to Bangladesh to certify all Clean Reporting Findings (CRF), except agri-commodities. Local agents/indentors play an important role in the import of agro-commodity products. Both traders and industrial concerns import product through agents. Canadian companies are urged to have local agents handle import facilitation and customer liaison. There are few reputable trading companies in Bangladesh for agro-commodities. In many cases, an agent's value relates to their operating in specific areas of the country, or their dealings with specific customers. Wheat and pulses are imported in bulk containers. These are bagged and sold in 4050 kilogram bags. There are strong government regulations in terms of international trade. Importing is permitted only through irrevocable letter of credit and certain documentations are needed for doing business under this regulated environment. Large suppliers dominate the import of wheat and pulses as they import in bulk, in vessel. However, import in containers has been increasing in recent years, and consequently, small and medium importers have flourished. Bangladesh is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) where it is active in representing the interests of the least developed countries in the world and Bangladesh is also a member of good standing in the South Asia Preferential Trade agreement (SAPTA). As well Bangladesh is a member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) an organization that seeks to promote economic cooperation between Bangladesh, India, Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Such agreements tend to facilitate and ease trade amongst these countries and represent connections with all of Bangladesh's largest trading partners.

3. Sub-Sector Identification
Agribusiness has achieved limited success in a few areas, including poultry, shrimp, fruits, dairy products, vegetables, wheat and bakery products, medicinal plants, animal feed, flowers and orchids. Other commodities and products including rice, tea, sugar, jute and tobacco have been part of the commercial system of production, but have not shown yet the required dynamism for agribusiness. Many local companies have now moved in to agri-food business and have used supply chain management to maintain a farm to retail sales direct linkage. Bangladesh imports potato seeds (cardinal variety) mostly from the Netherlands. The total potato seed requirement in the country is 0.50 million tonnes. The 20 year Dutch potato seed lifecycle has just ended, therefore it is the right time to introduce new varieties to the market. The High Commission of Canada has initiated tests of two varieties with a couple of local vendors. We expect to increase the number of varieties this year.