At the beginning of the corona, remittances, that is, the jump in expatriate income, began to push the trend. Expatriate income has been declining for three consecutive months. Bankers fear that it may decrease further in the coming days.
It is learned that in the month of August, the expatriates sent revenues of 181 crore dollars, which is equivalent to 15 thousand 365 crore rupees (75 rupees per dollar). Expatriate income also declined in August compared to the same month last year. In August last year, the expatriate income came to 196 crore dollars. As a result, the expatriate income has decreased by about 6 percent in August compared to the previous year.
Apart from this, in the first month of the current 2021-22 fiscal year, compared to July, the expatriate income has decreased by about 3 and a quarter percent in August. In July, the expatriates sent 160 million dollars, about 15 thousand 900 crore rupees. In the last month of the last financial year, in June, the expatriates sent 194 crore dollars, which is about 16 thousand crore taka of the country.
Usually the income comes before the Eid of Korbani. But this time it has decreased. Last July, the expatriate income decreased compared to the same month last year. Even in July 2021, the income was lower than in all other months, which is ৮৭ 160 million. That’s ৬ 69.3 million less than in June last year and about 26 percent less than the same month last year. As a result, the bankers fear that the income will decrease further.
Bankers say that even though the income of everyone in Corona decreased, the income of expatriates in the country increased legally. It was basically illegal income. As a result of the closure of air communication and illegal routes, all income has come to the banking channel. Now that communication has started, the legal income of expatriates has decreased. Income may be further reduced in the days ahead.
At present, the government gives an additional 2 percent incentive to remittances or expatriate income through banking channels. In addition, many banks offer an additional 1 percent incentive.
In the outgoing 2020-21 fiscal year, the total expatriate income in the country is about ৭৮ 2,047 crore, which is more than Tk 2 lakh crore in Bangladeshi currency. This income is 36 percent more than the 1,703 million in the 2019-20 fiscal year. With the amount of money sent by expatriates in the last one year, it is possible to build seven Padma bridges in the country. According to the latest estimates, the total cost of building the Padma Bridge will be Tk 30,193 crore.
