A rather ambitious gross domestic product (GDP) growth target has been set by the government for the next fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), despite high commodity prices globally and consistent Covid-19 pandemic-induced economic shocks.
Officials have also retained their 7.2% growth target for the ongoing FY22, which will end this June.
The growth projection was shared at a meeting of the Fiscal Coordination Council chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday.
Top officials of the finance ministry, Bangladesh Bank and other ministries were present.
"Such a target is achievable," said State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam.
"We set the target after analyzing everything, including the country's economic ability and taking into account the mega projects that would be implemented by this time. We will continue our efforts to achieve the goal."
The growth target is higher than the forecasts by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The World Bank has projected that Bangladesh's GDP would grow by 6.7% in FY23, while the ADB expected the economy to expand by 7.1%.
Prof Alam said attaining the goal would be possible if the international situation does not deteriorate.
He termed the Russia-Ukraine war a big problem and blamed the conflict for rising inflation.
At the meeting of the coordination council, the inflation rate for FY23 was projected at 5.5%.
When the budget for the current fiscal year was unveiled in June last year, the inflation goal was set at 5.3%.
It was later revised upwards to 5.7% as prices went up for a combination of multiple factors.
Inflation jumped to 6.17% in February, the highest in 16 months, driven by soaring costs of foods.
The inflation outlook has worsened due to the war in Ukraine and associated sanctions that resulted in higher global commodity prices, said the World Bank in its latest report on Bangladesh.
Non-food prices are likely to remain elevated as well, driven by an increase in transportation costs and the knock-on effects on other products, said the global lender.
According to the government's projection, the size of the economy would be $512 billion, or Tk44,12,849 crore in FY23, while it was Tk38,95,483 crore in FY22.
