Manpower export down, remittance up amid Covid
In the third quarter (July-September) of the current year, only 16 Bangladeshis went abroad for work
Manpower exports came down to almost a zero in the second quarter (April-June) of this year due to disruption to communications battered by Covid and deteriorating global economic situation.
However, in the first three months (January-March) of 2020, more than 1.8 lakh manpower was exported.
In the third quarter (July-September) of the current year, only 16 Bangladeshis went abroad for work.
Of them, 23 are women. The highest number of 19 people went to Singapore, 15 in Oman, and only 1 in Saudi Arabia.
The rest have gone to other countries.
The information has been revealed in the quarterly report on remittance inflows by the Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday.
Although manpower export was very low, there was a high flow of remittances even amid Covid that came through legal means.
During July-September period, the country's total remittance reached $6.71 billion, up 48.4% from the same period a year ago.
The country-wise inflow of remittances during July-September 2020 shows that the largest amount of remittances was received from Saudi Arabia $1.61 billion, which is 24.04% of total remittances.
Remittance from USA was 12.14%, UAE 11.19%, Malaysia 9.05%, United Kingdom 7.69%, Oman 7.24%, Kuwait 6.95% and other countries 21.70%.
According to the report, the lion's share of remittances come to the country through private banks.
During the July-September period, private commercial banks collected $4.71 billion which are 70.23% of the total remittance.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) received the highest amount of remittance $2.12 billion (31.64% of the total) and topped the list of all banks.
State-owned commercial banks collected $1.85 billion which is 27.62% of the total remittance.
Among state-owned banks, Agrani Bank Ltd topped the chart with $953.23 million (14.20% of total remittance) while Sonali Bank Ltd attained the second position with $396.58 million (5.91% of total remittance).
Foreign Commercial Banks collected $35.63 million (0.53% of total remittance) during the July-September 2020.
As per the World Bank report titled "Migration and Development Brief April, 2020", Bangladesh stood 3rd in the South Asian region in terms of remittance earnings.
India is the top remittance earner followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka in this region.
Inward remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad continued to play a vital role in the development of Bangladesh economy by creating employment, reducing poverty, improving living standard, building up foreign exchange reserves and counter balancing the current account deficit.
The role of remittance in Bangladesh economy is crucial as it has become the second largest source of foreign currency earnings followed by readymade garments (RMG).
