Dhaka, Feb 8 : Bangladesh's trade deficit in the first half of the current 2022-23 fiscal year (July 2022-June 2023) dipped by 21.71 per cent to $12.30 billion year-on-year, according to data from the central bank. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) data revealed that the country's import payment was $38.13 billion, down 2.15 per cent, in the July-December period of the current fiscal year while earnings from exports stood at $25.83 billion, up 11.04 per cent, during the same period, reports Xinhua news agency. The BB data showed the gap between Bangladesh's export earnings and import payments in the July-December period of the previous 2021-22 fiscal year (July 2021-June 2022) was $15.71 billion. A central bank official who did not give his name said that growth in remittances as always helped Bangladesh cushion the impact of the trade deficit. Bangladesh's overall remittance inflow rose by 2.44 per cent year on year to $10.49 billion in the first half of the 2022-23 fiscal year. Bangladesh's trade deficit ballooned to a record level of over $33 billion in fiscal 2021-22 ending on June 30, 2022 on the back of increased imports. In its bid to boost the country's shrinking forex reserves which fell below $33 billion at the end of the last month, the central bank has taken various measures in recent months to discourage imports. The bank had recently raised the interest rate on loans in foreign currency from the Export Development Fund by 50 basis points to 4.5 per cent with a view to reducing forex reserve expenditure, according to central bank sources. /IANS