3 April 2013 03:23 am
Earnings from all major export categories dipped during the month. The decline was mainly driven by earnings from industrial exports that dipped 20.7 percent YoY to US $ 557.7 million.
Textile and garment export earnings reported an 8.9 percent YoY dip to 333.9 million while rubber export earnings declined 19.8 percent to 62.8 million
Earnings from agriculture products exports fell 18.2 percent YoY to US $ 726.7 million with tea export earnings declining 7.9 percent YoY to US $ 167 million.
"As demand for exports remained fettered by the slow recovery of major export destinations, namely, the EU and the USA, the decline in export earnings continued into 2013," the Central Bank said.
Meanwhile, expenditure on imports during the month of January fell 21.3 percent YoY to US $ 1507.2 million amidst expenditure on importing petroleum products falling sharply by 47.6 percent YoY to US $ 269.7 million.
Expenditure on importing investment goods fell 15.9 percent YoY to US $ 440.2 million in the backdrop of importation of transport equipment falling 63.6 percent YoY to 52.7 million. However, import expenditure on building materials rose 7.2 percent YoY to US $ 137 million.
Moneies spent on consumer goods imports fell 14.2 percent YoY to US $ 246.8 million while expenditure on machinery and equipment imports remained flat at US $ 250 million.
According to the Central Bank, the decline in import expenditure reflects the effectiveness of policies introduced in early 2012.