Staff Reporter :
Remittance to Bangladesh soared to an eight-month high in March as migrant workers sent home a higher amount to help their families meet an increased expenditure during Ramadan.
The Bangladeshi expatriates sent $1.86 billion in the last month, the highest since July when $1.87 billion flew into the country in remittances, according to Bangladesh Bank’s data revealed on Sunday.
The aforesaid month’s receipts were nearly 25 per cent higher than in February but down 2.67 per cent year-on-year.
Economists said that the inflow of remittances has increased ahead of the holy month for helping their families meet an increased expenditure.
Besides, additional incentives on remittance and uptrend in new migration to abroad have fueled the inward remittance, they said.
They further said the inflow has been declined since the last few months as the Bangladeshi expatriates had sent remittances to the country from their saved money during the pandemic time at the starting of 2020.
The government has increased incentive facility to 2.5 per cent from 2.0 per cent this year to bring remittances to the country in order to achieve its target.
The remittance flow, which saw an upward trend since the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, has been on the decline, with the pandemic easing.
The country received $1.5 billion in remittances in February, which was the lowest in 21 months. The figure is also 16 per cent lower year-on-year.
Compared to January, the remittances fell by 12.2 per cent or about $208 million as expatriates sent $1.70 billion in remittances in that month.
Earlier in May 2020, Bangladesh received $1.09 billion in remittance.
“The expatriate Bangladeshis sent their saved money home at the beginning of the pandemic crisis. Now, the inflow of remittance increased ahead off Ramzan and Eid-ul-Ftre as the Covid-induced difficulties eased,” said Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He, however, said many were sending money through hundi for higher dollar rates in the informal channels, which is not being added to the official remittance figures.
The inflow of remittance is likely to increase in coming days as a huge number of workers went abroad recently and they would start sending money soon, he hopped.
The government set a remittance target of $26 billion for the current fiscal (FY2021-22). However, the remittance fell far short of the target in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
The country receipt $15.29 billion during this time or achieved 57.69 per cent of the fiscal target.
Bangladesh had receipt $18.59 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
