The country’s remittance inflow hit a record growth ahead of Eid with expatriates sending almost $1.22 billion home within only the first 12 days of May.
In the first week of May last year, only $344 million in remittances came in, according to the latest data of the central bank.
Experts said remittance inflows usually increase during the two Eids, Bengali New Year and the last month of the year.
In addition, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, many people are sending money to the country for the treatment of Covid affected relatives.
However, the country’s remittance inflow crossed the $20 billion mark to stand at $20.66 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal year (FY 2020-21), riding on the relentless efforts of migrant workers to send their hard-earned money home through legal channels.
Bangladeshi expatriates sent $21.89 billion from July to May 12, up almost 50 percent over that in the same time of the previous fiscal.
Due to the high inflow of remittances, the foreign exchange reserves reached $45 billion on 3 May, and the reserve touched such a milestone.
Experts said expatriates are continuously sending money home despite the coronavirus pandemic. This remittance inflow is considered as the oxygen to the country’s economy.
They said the remittance inflow rapidly increased through official channels due to travel restrictions imposed by most of the countries in an effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bankers said that expatriates have been sending more money than at other times as the income of many of their families decreased due to the coronavirus.
On the other hand, many expatriates returned home permanently with their savings money during the pandemic. It also helped to boost remittance flow, they added.
An official of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said that various time-befitting initiatives taken by the government have resulted in an increased awareness among expatriate workers to send their hard-earned money through legal channels, pushing up the remittance inflow.
Some economists attributed the growth in remittance inflow to a government provision of two percent cash incentive to remitters on inward remittance from the last fiscal year.
This will significantly increase the remittance inflow through legal channels and discourage the ‘hundi’ business, they said.
Bangladeshi expatriates sent home $11.65 billion in FY11, $12.84 billion in FY12, $14.46 billion in FY13, $14.23 billion in FY14, $15.31 billion in FY15, $14.93 billion in FY16, $12.77 billion in FY17, $14.98 billion in FY18, in $16.41 billion in FY19 and $18.20 billion in FY20 respectively, Bangladesh Bank sources said.
More than 1.02 crore Bangladeshi expatriates are currently working in some 174 countries across the world.
