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The monthly inflow of remittance has hit an all-time high in July ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the largest religious festivals of the Muslims, as the expatriates sent $1.96 billion in remittance in the first 23 days of the month, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
In recent months, Bangladeshi migrants in different countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and the United States have been sending higher amounts of money.
Officials of the central bank said that the inflow of remittance in July would reach around $2.5 billion if the trend of inflow continued in the last week of July.
Usually, the inflow of remittance increases ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr and Ei-ul-Azha, two major religious festivals of the Muslims, they said.
Besides, joblessness and earning erosion of near and dear ones in the country of the migrants during the coronavirus pandemic-induced economic shutdown instigated many of them to remit higher amounts of money in the last several months as support, they said.
The remittance figure in July is a continuation of the immediate past fiscal year 2019-2020 when the country received $1.82 billion in remittance amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though the inflow of remittance spiked since May this year, the migration from the country since the outbreak of coronavirus in January has seen a significant fall as many countries kept their border closed for foreign nationals.
Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur told New Age, ‘Many Bangladeshi nationals are sending money as part of their preparations to return home due to joblessness.’
Economies of almost all the countries including the destinations of the Bangladeshi migrants have been facing stagnation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
‘And, it’s a major reason for the increased inflow of remittance when the migration from Bangladesh has remained almost halted for the last several months due to the coronavirus pandemic,’ said Mansur, also the chairman of BRAC Bank.
Besides, the inflow of remittance usually increases before Eid, he said.
Apart from these, income erosion and joblessness of the near and dear ones in the country could be another reason for the surge in inflow, he added.
The previous all-time high of remittance inflow was in June, the last month of the last fiscal year 2019-20, when the country received $1.83 billion.
Before Eid-ul-Fitr last year, the inflow of remittance posted record $1.75 billion in May last year.
In FY20, the government introduced 2 per cent cash incentive against remittance to encourage remittance through legal channel.
As a result of higher remittance inflow and slowdown in imports, the country’s foreign exchange reserve increased to $34 billion in June and $36 billion in July 2.
With the inflow of record remittance in July, the foreign exchange reserve is reaching close to $37 billion.
(NA)
