Published in The Daily Star on Friday, 4 July 2014.
Remittance fall raises concern
Negative growth in 13 years
Staff Correspondent
Inward remittances suffered negative growth for the first time in 13 years, mainly due to a shrinking outflow of migrant workers and falling receipts from Middle Eastern nations.
Bangladesh received $14.23 billion in remittance in 2013-14, down 1.6 percent from a year ago, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.
Remittance receipts last saw negative growth in fiscal 2000-01, declining about 3 percent to $1.88 billion year-on-year.
“Declining remittance is a big issue for the economy,” said Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director at Centre for Policy Dialogue.
He referred to appreciation of the taka against the dollar and shrinking outflow of migrant workers as the two main reasons for the decline in remittance in 2013-14.
However, the good thing is that the situation is improving since March this year, he said.
Remittance grew 21.55 percent in June from the same month a year ago, the data show.
Analysing data of the 10 months to April, the CPD said inward remittances from six major Middle East countries declined by 16.2 percent. Manpower export from Bangladesh also fell by 10.5 percent during the period, it said last month.
Inward remittances have helped Bangladesh stimulate economic growth for more than a decade.
According to a World Bank study, remittances augment consumption and investment, and thereby have an important role in stimulating the economy. It helps the economy maintain a stable balance of payments and current accounts.