Bangladesh expects to see export growth despite global trade shifts

Bangladesh expects substantial export growth, although the global trade dynamics have undergone significant shifts in recent years.

A document of the Ministry of Finance expected the growth based on the projection of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Although global trade experienced a contraction in 2023, it will increase in 2024 and onwards, according to the WTO.

The WTO also mentioned that the world merchandise trade volume has the potential to increase by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025. It explained that as inflation will come down, people will tend to buy more goods, which will boost exports.

However, the advanced economies are likely to experience relatively modest export growth compared to the Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs), including that of Bangladesh.

EMDEs are the countries that are often considered to have faster economic growth than others.

Exports of the EMDEs, on the other hand, are expected to grow approximately by 4% in the medium term, according to the document.

As per country-specific projections, Bangladesh's export growth (volume) experienced a slowdown from 8.79% in 2023 while expected to be 3.93% in 2024. But the document says that it will be picking up pace again and reach 8.83% by 2027.

The Euro area, which faced a significant contraction in 2023, is expected to recover gradually, with export growth rates around 3% from 2025 onward.

China's export growth rate is expected to remain moderate, ranging from 1.8% in 2025 to 2.85% in 2026, while India's export growth is forecast to rebound strongly from a contraction of -2.76% in 2023 to around 4% in 2025.

The UK's export growth outlook is subdued, with contractions in 2023 and 2024, followed by modest growth rates below 2% until 2027.

In contrast, the USA is projected to maintain a relatively stable export growth rate of around 3% throughout the forecast period from 2024 to 2027.

With the gradual recovery of exports, the official document said that imports are also expected to rebound in the medium term (2026–27).

Like export performance, the EMDEs are projected to outperform the advanced economies in terms of import growth, driven by factors like infrastructure investments and expanding consumer markets.

While the global import outlook points towards a gradual recovery, the document mentioned that country-specific dynamics reveal varied trajectories.

For example, the IMF projected that Bangladesh's import volume growth is expected to rebound sharply from a contraction in 2023 to see modest growth in 2024 (4.1%) and robust growth in 2025 (about 18.0%).

China is expected to experience a declining trend in import growth with 3.4% in 2024 and 0.9% in 2025, while export growth in India is expected to accelerate from 4.8% in 2024 to 6.6% in 2025 and onward.

Import growth in advanced economies like the UK and the USA is projected to remain low, with the UK even posting negative growth in 2025.