A NATIONAL daily reported on Thursday that despite remarkable remittance inflows of $9.92 billion in the July-February period of FY15, it relatively decreased by 1.15 per cent to $9.76 billion in eight months of the Financial Year of 2015-16, which has drowned negative attention of the experts to the remittance fall that might put an adverse impact on the country’s gross domestic product, balance of payments and overall economy of the country.
Although Bangladesh continues to be among the top 10 remittance receiving countries over the years, the country has now slid one notch down from last year. Sent by more than 8 million migrant workers, remittance plays a key role in reducing the overall incidence of poverty in the country as well as helping the country maintain a healthy balance of payments account. In Bangladesh, the fall in remittances stems from a combination of factors, including fewer migrants finding jobs in the Gulf countries, more migrants returning home due to departures and deportations, and the appreciation of the Taka against the dollar. A report said that workers residing in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia, whose visas have expired, are failing to send money home, which has affected the remittance flow.
Moreover, the decline is accompanied by a large number of returning migrants. The economies of Arabian countries, which are our main manpower export destinations, are now facing crisis due to a drastic fall of petroleum prices in the International market. The majority of the Bangladeshi expatriate workers are working in Middle Eastern countries and the economies of the region mainly depend on the income from the petroleum products. The lower cost of petroleum products has hit businesses of the Middle East, resulting in a reduction of their spending in infrastructure and development projects. Besides, an anti-immigration sentiment is building up in Europe, forcing Bangladeshi nationals to leave the countries of the continent.
It is mentionable to say that the government has apparently failed to export manpower to new markets like Malaysia, which has further impacted remittances negatively. In fact, the remittance drop as a result of the government’s failure to reopen labour markets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait through diplomatic channels into accepting Bangladeshi migrants. If the government cannot come out of this continuous downtrend, our foreign reserves will fall significantly. Experts said that improving migrants’ skills was also essential as the remittances basically depended on it. Most of Bangladeshi migrant workers abroad are engaged in sectors which require little training or education resulting in receiving low salaries. It has a negative impact upon the remittance flows of the country.
Now it is necessary that the government should take prompt action to expand new markets to export manpower in a bid to increase inward remittances. Meanwhile, Bangladesh should avail the opportunities offered by a number of Middle Eastern countries and other to have illegal workers legalized, which will not only give the remittance flows a much-needed boost but will again open the doors to the countries for Bangladeshi workers. Experts also called for efforts aimed at opening new markets and grabbing opportunities due to the reviving global economy.
