Bangladesh sees monthly remittances drop 39% to lowest in five and a half years

The monthly remittance received by Bangladesh dropped in September by 39 percent to $853 million, which is the lowest in five and a half years.

In August, the expatriate remitted over $1.41 billion while the previous lowest of $928 million was recorded in February 2012. 

The flow of remittance in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, however, rose by 4.37 percent to around $3.39 billion.

Bangladesh Bank released the latest remittance data on Monday.

Its spokesperson Shubhankar Saha told bdnews24.com that usually the expatriates send less money after Eid. "That's what happened in September," he said.

The amount of money sent by non-resident Bangladeshis in July and August grew by 16 percent year-on-year to $2.53 billion this year after a nosedive to a six-year low of $12.77 billion in the last fiscal year.

The World Bank in a recent report said remittances to developing countries declined for the second straight year in 2016.

Taking notice of the report, Finance Minister AMA Muhith had said the government had taken measures to increase remittances.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its growth forecast for Saudi Arabia, the largest source of Bangladesh's remittance, for next year.

Bangladesh receives the bulk of remittances from six Middle-East countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Money sent by the expatriates contributes to 12 percent of Bangladesh's GDP.