The inflow of remittance into Bangladesh dropped significantly in the last three months from July to September following worldwide economic slowdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. It is feared that the downtrend will continue for several more months. The remittance inflow was good in the last 1.5 years despite first and second coronavirus pandemic waves. However, according to the Bangladesh Bank statistics, inward remittance plunged by nearly 28 per cent or US$726.72 million to $1.87 billion in July, first month of current fiscal year 2021-22, from $2.60 billion in the same month of the previous fiscal. Total amount of remittance was $1.94 billion in June 2021.
Explaining the falling trend in remittance, economists and senior bankers have pointed fingers at lower working days because of Covid-19 lockdown, which pushed down the inflow. Specifically, the flow of inward remittances has fallen after any Eid festival in the Middle East countries, where the majority of our workers are employed. Usually, the expatriates like to send their hard-earned money through illegal ‘hundi’. For that reason, the central bank had taken a series of measures to encourage expatriates to send their money through the formal banking channel. During the covid-induced slowdown there were no international flights and thus no ‘hundi’ business. This inflated the amount of remittance inflow during the period. Now ‘hundi’ business is back plus the growth of migrant workers sending remittance has fallen.
In December 2020, a report prepared by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) had warned that the country’s remittance earnings may fall in 2021 as the outflow of workers abroad declined drastically due to pandemic. The local media had also run several reports on the issue. When our migrant workers had started returning from different countries in hundreds and thousands, the government could not take any sustainable measures to send them back or find alternative labour markets to absorb them. Only 1, 83,682 workers were able to go abroad on jobs from January 01 to November 19 last year. The situation is miserable this year. It looks like the magic of remittance will no longer be there in the coming days. What if the remittance flow which has been a pillar of our economy decreases continuously? The authorities concerned should apply their minds urgently to help sustain remittance earnings.
