In the last few years the export to Bangladesh has increased from 468 million SEK in 2001 to 1549 million SEK in 2006 while the import in the same period has gone from 1005 million SEK to 1367 million SEK. Between 2004 and 2005 the export grew by 26% while the import went down by 13%. It’s a fact, however, that the registered trade statistics underestimates the import figures as Bangladeshi products intended for the Swedish market are often off-loaded in other countries in the European Union. About 95% of the import from Bangladesh consists of garments, knitwear and other textiles. Telecommunication apparatus and equipments account for ca. 70% of the export to Bangladesh. Machinery and other engineering products paper, wood, ore, iron and steel and chemical products are other important export products.
There are some 50 Swedish or Swedish-related companies represented in Bangladesh by themselves or by agents.