Business Desk :
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, consumption, investment and savings, the three main indicators of the economy, have grown from 9.5 percent to 12 percent over the last fiscal year 2018-19. However, despite the increase in investment as a percentage, the growth in GDP has come down to 5.24 percent.
This information has come up in the periodic report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). According to BBS, in the 2001-02 fiscal year, the GDP grew 4.36 percent and 5.33 percent in the following year. Since then, the growth rate has increased every year.
Therefore, the lowest growth in the last 18 years has been recorded in the last fiscal year. The BBS data showed that the GDP growth rate in the FY18 was 7.86 percent while it was 7.28 percent in FY17.
Bureau of Statistics officials said, “The report was released after reviewing the dynamics of the first nine months of the fiscal year up to March. Work on the final report has started since the end of the fiscal year. Its work will be completed in the next two months.”
They also speculate that growth could slow further in the final report.
According to BBS sources, 8.15 per cent GDP growth was achieved in the 2018-19 fiscal year and so the target for the last financial year was set at 8.20 percent.
However, the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a research institute, had projected a 2.5 per cent growth at the end of the fiscal year. The World Bank had forecast 1.6 percent growth. The IMF had predicted that growth in Bangladesh would slow down like in other countries.
The government also reduced the target from 8.2 percent to 5.2 percent.
The review found that growth in the industrial sector among the major sectors fell by almost half from 12.67 per cent to 6.48 per cent in the last fiscal year. Growth in the services sector slowed to 5.32 percent from 6.78 percent. Agriculture grew 3.11 percent in the last fiscal year while it was 3.92 per cent in FY19.
The manufacturing sector grew by 5.84 per cent. The sub-sector had seen 14.20 per cent growth in the previous year.
According to BBS, the market value of GDP stood at Tk 2,796,378.2 crore in the last fiscal year. Of this, the agriculture sector contributed 13.02 percent, industry 31.13 percent and services 55.86 percent.
According to the report, for the first time, the country’s per capita income (GNI) has increased 8.15 percent and reached USD 2,064, which is equivalent to TK 1,74,888.
The per capita income was USD 1,909 in FY19 and USD 1,751 in FY18.
