Bangladesh will urge Latin American country to cut trade gap

Bangladesh will urge Brazil to reduce the widening trade gap during the talks between visiting Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud to be held in Dhaka  on April 7, sources said.

Earlier,  Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will lead a 24-member business delegation to Dhaka during their visit to Dhaka on April 7-8. A delegation of FBCCI, the apex trade body of the country, will also meet with them.

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that Bangladesh and Brazil are expected to sign an agreement and three MoUs during the upcoming visit of Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to Dhaka on April 7-8.

Brazil was the fifth largest import source of Bangladesh in 2022-23 fiscal year with import recorded at 2592.5 million US dollars (3.80 per cent of total import).  The total import of Bangladesh recorded at 68459.9 million US dollars, according to the data of Bangladesh Bank.

Brazil was the eighth largest import source of Bangladesh in 2021-22 fiscal year with import recorded at 2245.1 million (3.00 per cent of total import).  The total import of Bangladesh recorded at 75,604.4 million US dollars, according to the data of Bangladesh Bank.

Bangladesh exported goods worth 175538064.3 US dollars (175 million US dollars)  to Brazil as against its import of 2592.5 million US dollars making a trade gap of overt 2400 million US dollars.

Bangladesh exported goods worth 136609688.1 US dollars (136 million US dollars) during July-February period of the 2023-24 fiscal year to the Latin American country.

Shahidullah Azim, Managing Director of Classic Fashion Concept Ltd, a leading readymade garment exporter, said Bangladesh should start talks on signing FTA with major importing countries to maintain present export growth.

After LDC graduation in 2026, Bangladesh is likely to experience high tariff in major importing countries that may cut competitiveness and export of the country, Azim said.

Brazil imported textiles and clothing worth 5.9 billion US dollars in 2022. China was top exporter with 3476.1 million US dollars, followed by India with 317.7 million US dollars, Paraguay 230.3 million US dollars, USA with 156.3 million US dollars, Vietnam with 151.6 million, Bangladesh with 150.6 million and Indonesia with 138.1 million US dollars.

A top official of the commerce ministry while talking to this correspondent said that Bangladesh will explore pros and cons of exporting goods to Brazil market

Brazil is the fourth largest cotton producer and second top exporter while Bangladesh is the second largest cotton importer in the world.

Bangladesh and Brazil have increased their engagement in multilateral sectors especially in the trade and investment as the bilateral trade between the two countries marked a higher growth in recent times, he said

In 2022, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brazilian nominal GDP was US$1.833 trillion. The GDP per capita was US$8,570 per inhabitant. Brazil has a long history of being among the ten largest economies in the world and rich in natural resources.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is more optimistic about Brazil and has raised its forecast for the country's growth in 2024 to 1.7%, compared to the previous estimate of 1.5%. It should be noted here that at the end of 2023, the IMF forecast maximum growth of 1% for Brazil in 2024.

As Bangladesh has become an emerging economy in the region and has maintained a steady economic growth over years defying the corona pandemic, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decided to expand multilateral engagements especially in the trade and investment with the South Asian country, diplomatic sources.

As part of that strategy, a high-powered trade delegation of the Latin American country visited Bangladesh in May in 2023 with an aim to strengthen bilateral trade with Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s export to Brazil, the largest market Latin America, during last 2022-23 fiscal year posted some 60 per cent growth over the previous 2021-22 fiscal year, according to data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).  

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported goods valued at $109.20 million to Brazil. The main products that Bangladesh exported to Brazil were Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles; knitted or crocheted, shirts; men's or boys' (not knitted or crocheted), and suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear); men's or boys' (not knitted or crocheted).

During the 1995-2020 period, exports of Bangladesh to Brazil have increased at an annualized rate of 9.08 per cent, from $15.1 million in 1995 to $132 million in 2020.

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Brazil exported goods valued $2,245.1 million US dollars to Bangladesh. The main products that Brazil exported to Bangladesh were cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form, cotton; not carded or combed, and soybeans, whether or not broken.

The Brazilian foreign minister will call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting with Hasan Mahmud.

Meanwhile, the Embassy of Brazil in Dhaka in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Department of Trade Promotion, Investment Attraction (DPRA) and Agribusiness in Brazil (Apex-Brazil) and Brazil-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BBCCI) held  conference titled Brazil-Bangladesh Trade Conference in the city in May, 2023.

Brazil, the largest economy in South America, will leave no stone unturned to increase trade relations with Bangladesh as the latter has become a new economic giant in the South Asian region, said Brazil Ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernandos Dias Feres.

Bangladesh’s economy has been growing steadily over the years and is now the 41st largest economy in the world, according to new data of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The economy of Bangladesh is estimated to have expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in 2022-23, said the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), a figure that analysts describe as good in view of elevated inflation, slowing exports and remittances and the ongoing pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.