Bangladesh’s trade deficit with different countries stood at $24.17 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, with China accounting for the largest share of the gap, followed by India.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir disclosed the figures on Tuesday in response to a written question from reserved-seat lawmaker Sabikun Nahar in parliament.
According to the minister, Bangladesh’s trade deficit with China was $17.86 billion, the highest among all trading partners. During the fiscal year, Bangladesh imported goods worth $18.56 billion from China while exports to the country stood at only $694.49 million.
India ranked second, with Bangladesh facing a trade deficit of $7.85 billion. Bangladesh exported goods worth $1.76 billion to India while importing goods worth $9.62 billion.
The minister said Bangladesh also recorded significant trade gaps with several other countries, including Indonesia ($3.58 billion), Singapore ($2.80 billion), Brazil ($2.45 billion), Qatar ($2.10 billion) and Malaysia ($2.01 billion).
He informed the House that Bangladesh has trade deficits with a total of 58 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Vietnam, Argentina, South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, Morocco and Japan.
Meanwhile, the commerce minister said the government has taken initiatives to secure tariff benefits through Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) after Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category in 2026.
He said Bangladesh has already sent a formal proposal to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade to begin discussions on an FTA with the European Union.
He also said China has recently granted duty-free and quota-free market access for 99 percent of tariff lines for Bangladeshi products, which is expected to expand Bangladesh’s export market further.
TZ
