Economy rebounding: finance minister

The country's overall macroeconomic situation is improving on the back of rising exports and remittances, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said yesterday.

"The overall economic situation is looking up. Things are looking up," he told The Daily Star.

He made the comments after a meeting with a number of secretaries and the Bangladesh Bank governor on the economic situation at his office at the secretariat.

Exports rebounded strongly in January this year posting an 11.45 percent year-on-year jump to hit $5.72 billion thanks to a higher shipment of garments and other merchandises, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

The shipment grew 2.52 percent year-on-year to $33.26 billion in the July-January period of the financial year.

Similarly, migrant workers sent home $2.1 billion in January, the highest in seven months, thanks to the outflow of a record number of workers who went abroad for jobs in 2023.

"It is not the case that everything will be fixed overnight. But the steps we have taken so far have started to yield results," the finance minister said.

The economy is going through one of its worst periods of history owing to external and internal factors.

Amid higher outflows of US dollars through an elevated level of imports against lower-than-expected exports and remittance receipts, Bangladesh's foreign currency reserves have seen a significant fall in the past two years.

The drying up of the reserves contributed to a 30 percent fall in the value of the local currency against the American greenback, making imports costlier, one of the key factors behind the persistently higher level of inflation.

BB Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder presented before the finance minister details about the central bank's steps regarding the economic situation, a source said.

The governor said thanks to the central bank measures, the reserves have remained stable and it would see an upward trend after June, according to the source.

Asked about the reserve situation, the finance minister said: "The reserves are also looking up. Inward remittances are going up and this is good."

Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the commerce ministry, said export and remittances are both increasing, which will give a much-needed boost to the reserves.

The reserves stood at $19.94 billion on January 31. It was $24.75 billion in June last year and $40.7 billion in August 2021.

The finance minister also said the prices of essential commodities are also falling.

He, however, added that bringing reforms might take time.

Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder said the overall economy is becoming stable. "So, inflation will decrease."

A finance ministry official said a decision has been taken at the meeting that the ongoing measures aimed at keeping the economy stable would continue.

National Board of Revenue Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said it would cut duties on imported essential commodities in Ramadan with a view to keeping the prices at a tolerable level during the fasting month.

The meeting also decided to strengthen efforts to send more skilled workers abroad.

Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah also spoke.