Despite a six-month decline caused by Covid-19 pandemic, remittances rose to a new height of $2,207 crore in 2021, surpassing the preceding year’s record of USD 2,174.
The country’s remittances were $164.90 crore in December that helped achieving the new record, according to the Bangladesh bank data.
However in the first six months (July-December) of FY 2021-22, remittances were $1023 crore, which was $1294 crore in the same period of last fiscal. As such, remittances in the first six months of the current fiscal fell by $270 crore or 20.91 percent.
The government has raised the incentive on remittances from 2 percent to 2.5 percent with effect from January 1, 2022.
According to BB documents, remittances in the first month of 2021 were $196.19 crore, followed by $178 crore in February, $191 crore in March, $206.76 crore in April, $217 crore in May, $194 crore in June, $187.14 crore in July, $181 crore in August, $172.67 crore in September, $ 164.68 crore in October, $155.37 crore in November and $164.90 crore in December.
According to the data, in 2020 remittance reaches through banking channels $2174 crore. In 2019 comes $1833 crore. Earlier in 2018 remittances came to $1555 crore. In 2017 came $1353 crore. Earlier $1361 crore came in 2016. In 2015 came $1531 crore & the amount of remittance in 2014 was $1492 crore .
There was a surge in remittances during the entire 2020-21 fiscal year, with remittances of $2478 crore received, which is 36.10 percent higher than the previous fiscal. Of the 12 months of that fiscal year more than $ 200 crore in remittances came in seven months.
In fiscal 2019-20 remittances were $1820 crore, up from $1642 crore in fiscal 2018-19. The remittance in fiscal 2017-18 were $1498 crore.
Besides $1276.94 crore came in the fiscal 2016-17, $1493.11 crore in fiscal 2015-16 and $1531.69 crore in fiscal 2015-16.
Experts said that due to Corona the expatriates have sent the money saved from a kind of uncertainty to the country. Many have lost their jobs or closed their businesses and returned home with all their money.
Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRIB) and chairman of BRAC Bank told The News Times that the remittances increased due to the Corona Pandemic and it declined for the same reason.
