The central bank said it expected the trade deficit to keep widening out to $8.84 billion in the year to next June.
Bills for imports — notably fuel, food and power generation equipment — soared, offsetting strong exports led by clothing, while remittances grew more slowly, a senior central bank official said.
It expects import bills to climb to $35.17 billion in 2011-12 from $30.58 billion in 2010-11.
The current account surplus in 2010/11 slid to $564 million from $3.7 billion the previous year, while the balance of payments swung into a deficit of $38 million from a surplus of $2.86 billion last year.
The South Asian country routinely runs a trade deficit, but high global commodity prices and increased volumes are widening the gap.
Exports hit a record $22.9 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, while remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas rose 6 percent to $11.6 billion.
The central bank expects remittances to reach only $12.56 billion in the current fiscal year, while exporters said a slowdown in its key markets in the west could hurt exports, going forward.
The garments sector, which employs 3.5 million workers, is one of the main foreign exchange earners for Bangladesh’s more than $100 billion economy, along with remittances, which have recently grown more slowly mainly due to the turmoil in the Middle East and north Africa.
Remittances from more than 7 million Bangladeshis working abroad and a robust garments sector have played key roles in lifting nearly 14 million people out of poverty over the five years to 2010.
Bangladesh is targeting exports of $26.3 billion this fiscal year, up 15 percent from 2010-11, much slower than the blistering 41.5 percent pace of growth seen last year.
Clothing exporters said the outlook was not so buoyant, adding that July-September will be slower than a year ago as orders from buyers in Western economies were declining and a quick recovery in big economies would be key for growth.
The central bank projection shows foreign exchange reserves fell to $10.85 billion in 2011-12 from $10.91 billion the previous year.
The Bangladeshi taka has continued to fall against the US dollar, further fueling inflation and import costs.
