Q1 remittance falls by 18pc

Remittance flow into the country dropped nearly 18 per cent to US$3.23 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 against the last corresponding figure, officials said.
Experts fear a further downturn in future days as manpower export to the gulf countries may fall for lingering uncertainty over stability in the Middle East.
The inflow of remittances 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's latest statistics, released Monday.
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, it stood at $1.18 billion. The receipts were $1.35 billion in September 2015.
"The flow of inward remittances in the Q1 of this fiscal was not at satisfactory level in the FY 16 despite the Eid festival," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He forecasts the falling trend in inward remittances may continue in the coming months, too, unless the country's overseas job markets are diversified.
"We need to diversify overseas job markets soon to expedite the inflow of remittances," the central banker about the immediate task of the time on this front.
Overall development activities in the Middle-Eastern countries are squeezing gradually because of lower prices of fuel oils on the global market, the BB official said about one of the main reasons.
Another factor is a bit dull state of the dollar in exchange. As such, unlike previously, commercial banks are now not willing to collect inward remittances due mainly to lower demand for the greenback on the local inter-bank foreign-exchange market, according to the central banker.
Talking to the FE, another BB senior official said at least three overseas exchange houses had already been closed because the banks concerned do not see their business over there as viable.
Currently, 30 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1152 drawing arrangements abroad, to expedite the remittance inflow, the BB official added.
The central bank earlier had taken a series of measures, including creation of mass awareness, so the expatriate Bangladeshis send their hard-earned money home through the banking channel, instead of illegal hundi system, to boost the country's foreign-exchange reserves.
"In theory, remittances can decline because of a combination of the following: a decline in the stock of migrant workers abroad, lower earnings per capita, a reduced propensity to save, and a weaker propensity to remit out of what migrants are saving," the World Bank said in its last Bangladesh Development Update.
The World Bank also said remittances fell in the FY 16, driven entirely by declines from GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, despite a significant increase in the number of Bangladeshi workers abroad.
When asked, former BB Governor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said the purchasing power of remittance beneficiaries may be affected negatively following the lower inflow of remittances
"The manpower export to the GCC countries may fall in future mainly due to uncertainty over future stability in the Middle East," Dr. Ahmed said.
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