Dhaka, July 12 - Bangladesh's trade deficit with its principal partners India and China will cross $5.5 billion this fiscal, keeping up the pattern of higher imports and lower exports.

The economy would, however, be helped by remittances from its large manpower working abroad and the government is trying hard to sustain in the face of the global downturn, officials of Bangladesh Bank predict.

Bangladesh annually imports goods worth around $3 billion from China and over $3 billion from India compared to its yearly exports valued at about $250 million and $360 million, respectively, to the two countries, according to the latest official statistics.

Despite the deficit in the trade balance, the current account balance recorded a huge surplus at $400 million during the July-April period of the fiscal as compared to $278 million surplus during the corresponding period of the 2007-08 fiscal due mainly to large current transfers of $8.