Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The overall flow of inward remittances dropped by 17.83 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 against the same period of the last fiscal year, officials said.
The inflow of remittance came down to US$3.23 billion during the July-September period of the FY 17 from $3.93 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank latest statistics, released on Monday.
Talking to BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said the flow of inward remittances in the Q1 of this fiscal was not at satisfactory level in the last fiscal despite the Eid festival.
The falling trend in inward remittances may continue in the coming months, too, unless the country’s overseas job markets are diversified, the central banker added.
He also said the overall development activities in the Middle East countries are squeezing gradually because of lower prices of fuel oils in the global market.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $1.04 billion in September 2016, down by $140.61 million from the level of the previous month. In August last, the remittances stood at $1.18 billion. It was $1.35 billion in September 2015.
The central banker also said Bangladesh needs to diversify overseas job markets soon for boosting the inflow of remittances.
Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), expressed grave concern over drastic fall of the inward remittance during the period under review.
“The issue should be addressed by the authorities concerned immediately to boost the inflow of remittance through banking channel,” the country’s highest remittance-recipient bank’s chief executive noted.
BBN/SSR/AD