$20 billion discrepancy in import figures: Where did this huge sum of money go?

❐ BD Digest Desk

The country’s overall economy has been plagued by stagnant investment, high inflation, sluggish domestic production, and lack of desired momentum in exports for quite some time. However, now, a huge discrepancy and discrepancy has come to light in the data of two of the country’s top government agencies—Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)—on the cost of importing goods.

The latest data from the two organizations shows a huge gap of $20 billion in terms of imports of goods in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

According to BBS data, the total import expenditure in that fiscal year was a record $95 billion, while the central bank’s expenditure was only $75 billion. However, for the past five years, the central bank’s import expenditure has been limited to $60 to $70 billion.

The lack of accounting for this huge amount of money has naturally raised major questions.

A review of monthly import accounts shows that in June, the final month of the fiscal year, while BBS showed import expenditure of $9.5 billion, Bangladesh Bank showed $7.5 billion—meaning a difference of $2 billion in just one month.

There are wide differences not only in total import expenditure, but also in sector-wise accounting areas:

• Capital equipment: Although the central bank showed less than $3.5 billion in imports, the BBS estimate is $6.5 billion.
• Fuel Oil: According to Bangladesh Bank’s calculations, the cost of importing oil was $2.5 (two and a half) billion, but BBS says it is more than $4 billion.
• Other products: Major discrepancies in data have also been observed in the case of various daily necessities including rice and wheat.
• Trade deficit: This confusion in import costs has also led to a huge discrepancy in trade deficit data. According to BBS, the trade deficit is $47 billion, while according to Bangladesh Bank, it is $27 billion.

According to some economic analysts, such conceptual and structural confusion may arise due to differences in the accounting methods and data sources of different organizations.

However, economists have warned that despite the existence of automated systems or dashboards, many LC payments or money remain outside the country due to lack of proper supervision, which actually indicates illegal money laundering.

Such discrepancies and irregularities in information, on the one hand, undermine the credibility of domestic data, and on the other hand, create widespread confusion among foreign investors.

Therefore, sector stakeholders have urged for a coordinated initiative by the NBR, the Central Bank, and the Bureau of Statistics to quickly clarify the sources and definitions of data and properly coordinate the data.

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