Introduction:
Trade is an integral part of the total developmental effort and national growth of all economies including Bangladesh. It particularly plays a central role in the development plan of Bangladesh where foreign exchange scarcity constitutes a critical bottleneck. Export trade can largely meet ‘foreign exchange gap’, and export growth would increase the import capacity of the country that, in turn, would increase industrialization, as well as overall economic activities.
Bangladesh’s import needs are substantial; hence the need to rapidly increase exports is immediate. In order to finance the imports and also to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign aid, the Government of Bangladesh has been trying to enhance foreign exchange earnings through planned and increased exports. However, the global trade scenario has exposed structural limitations of the Bangladesh economy, posing a variety of challenges for the country that has underdeveloped technology and a low capital base.
In this assignment we discuss the composition, performance and trends of foreign trade of Bangladesh. In the process, we examine Bangladesh’s export and import performance compared to those of various countries, regions and the world over the years. We also discuss the sources of Bangladesh’s imports and directions of Bangladesh’s exports and the dynamic changes over the years, and highlight the trends of export and import shares to GDP and trade balance positions with different countries, regions as well as the world.

Export:
"Foreign demand for goods produced by home country"
In national accounts "exports" consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from residents to non-residents.
A general delimitation of exports in national accounts is given below:
An export of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a resident to a