In the farewell month of November, Bangladesh received remittances totaling $1.93 billion, equivalent to 193 crore dollars in local currency (approximately 21,181 crore 75 lakh taka at the exchange rate of 109.75 taka per dollar). This information was disclosed in the recent update from the Bangladesh Bank.
The instability in the dollar market within the country has been a longstanding issue, and the crisis is escalating. Due to the shortage of foreign currency, strict measures have been imposed on imports. The government and the central bank are working to resolve the crisis, resorting to supplying dollars from reserves. However, these efforts have yet to yield a significant improvement in the situation.
Despite a stable supply of dollars for sale from reserves to stabilize the market, various bill payments from reserves are dwindling. The dollar sale has resulted in a reduction of reserves by more than $6 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year 2023-24 (July-November). The net reserves have fallen to $25 billion, and according to BPMEA-6, a further decrease to $19 billion is noted.
Amidst these challenges, there was hope for an increase in remittances to mitigate the dollar crisis. However, November witnessed remittances amounting to $1.93 billion, which is nearly five crore dollars less than the previous month, October. Comparatively, it is more than 33 crore dollars higher than in November of the previous year.
According to the recent Bangladesh Bank report, the November remittances arrived through state-owned banks, totaling 14 crore 42 lakh 60 thousand dollars, through a particular bank, reaching five crore 31 lakh 80 thousand dollars, through private commercial banks, amounting to 172 crore 66 lakh 80 thousand dollars, and through foreign banks, totaling 59 crore 20 thousand dollars. Seven banks, including Rupali Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Habib Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, and State Bank of India, did not receive any remittance during this period.
Bangladesh faced challenges in remittance inflow during the fiscal year 2022-23, with the pandemic-induced closure of hundi channels contributing to a significant decline. However, in the first five months of the current fiscal year (2023-24), expatriates have sent the highest remittance through official banking channels, amounting to 216.1 crore dollars.
