Bangladesh suffers huge trade deficit with its major Asian trading partners, with export growth to India and China failing to put a brake on widening gap.

Provisional estimates revealed that trade gap with each of China and India crossed 1.5 billion US dollars in the 2004-05 fiscal, while the gap stood over 800 million dollars and 350 million dollars with Singapore and South Korea respectively, local daily New Age reported on Sunday.

The daily quoted figures compiled by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying that in the last fiscal, Bangladesh 's exports to China reached to around 60 million dollars, showing 30 percent growth from 46 million dollars of a year ago.

But imports from China grew by 39 percent to 1.66 billion dollars in the same period, widening the trade gap with the Asian giant.

Trade deficit with China swelled to 1.6 billion dollars in the 2004-05 fiscal from around 1.2 billion dollars of a year ago period.

As Chinese companies offer cheaper products than most countries, Bangladesh market has already been flooded with these goods.

Local entrepreneurs said it is very difficult for them to fight with Chinese goods. Drastic reduction of import tariffs under pressure from International Monetary Fund has led to the opening of flood gate for imports, they were quoted as saying.

Trade deficit with India also increased during the period under review as both export to and import from the next-door neighbor increased.

Total export to India jumped by 62 percent to 145 million dollars in the 2004-05 fiscal from 89 million dollars of the 2003- 04 fiscal.

On the other hand, import from India posted 16 percent growth during the period. Total import from India amounted to 1.86 billion dollars last fiscal against 1.6 billion dollars of the previous fiscal.

As a result, Indo-Bangla trade gap further widened to 1.71 billion dollars last fiscal from 1.51 billion dollars of a year ago.

Bangladesh has been seeking duty free access to India for many products along with reduction of trade-distorting non-tariff barriers.

Source: Xinhua