The flow of inward remittance dropped by nearly 25 per cent in April following the coronavirus outbreak in different parts of the world, officials said.
Remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at US$ 1.08 billion in April 2020, registering a fall of $ 353 million from the same month a year ago. It was $1.43 billion in April 2019.
On the other hand, the flow of inward remittances fell by 16 per cent in April from $1.29 billion a month ago, according to the central bank's latest statistics.
Senior bankers feared that the inflow of remittance might fall further in the coming days if the pandemic continues.
"The country's economy may face an extra pressure in the near future if the falling trend in inward remittance persists," an executive of a private commercial bank (PCB) told the FE on Sunday.
He said the flow of inward remittance may increase slightly this month because of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitur.
The inflow of remittances grew by nearly 12 per cent to $14.86 billion during the July-April period of fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 from $13.30 billion in the same period of the previous FY.
The government has already allocated Tk 30.60 billion as incentive in the budget for FY '20 to encourage expatriate workers to send their money home through legal channels.
The central bank had earlier taken a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money home through the formal banking channel instead of illegal "hundi" system in order to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.
siddique.islam@gmail.com