Bangladesh’s trade deficit declined by over 63% to USD 4.59 bln in the first half of FY23-24, compared to the previous year. Import payments decreased by 19.8%, while export earnings slightly increased by 0.64% during the same period. The trade deficit had been USD 12.31 bln in the July-December period of FY22-23. Additionally, remittances rose 2.9% YoY to USD 10.79 bln in the first half of FY23-24, helping to mitigate the trade deficit impact. The overall trade deficit for FY22-23 was reduced by 48.41% to USD 17.16 bln.