DHAKA: Bangladesh Bank (BB) data on Sunday showed trade deficit during the first six months of the 2013-2014 fiscal year contracted by 58.29 percent to about $1.53 billion year-on-year.

It also showed the country`s import payment was $16.044 billion, down 0.11 percent, during the July-December period of the current fiscal (July 2013-June 2014) while earnings from exports stood at $14.511 billion, up 17.15 percent, during the same period, reports Xinhua.

The data showed that the gap between Bangladesh`s export earnings and import payments during July-December period of the previous fiscal (2012-13) was $3.675 billion.

The trade deficit of Bangladesh between July 2012 and June 2013 slid by about 25 percent to $7.01 billion year-on-year.

BDST: 1810 HRS, FEB 16, 2014