It is encouraging to see that, in the wake of a tumultuous and volatile 2022, Bangladesh has continued to march forward; export earnings of the first six months (July-December) of the current fiscal year (FY 2022-23) experienced year-on-year growth of 10.58% while remittance for the month of December was also up 4.29% year-on-year.
Bangladesh earned $27.31 billion from exports, higher than $24.69bn in the last fiscal year in the first six months of this fiscal year while a review of the remittance flow showed that the total remittance received in the first 6 months of the ongoing FY23 (from July to December) was $1.49bn whereas in the previous FY22, that amount was $1.23bn.
With Bangladesh's imminent graduation to a middle income country in the next few years, it is imperative that earnings from exports and remittance - two of the cornerstones of our economy, particularly with regard to earning foreign currency - remain steady and trending upwards.
To that end, while the authorities concerned and relevant stakeholders must be commended for ensuring that we are on the right track, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels and expect things to go our way.
As previously iterated, last year was unpredictable, and with most global crises such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, global inflation, and the overall food and energy crisis, Bangladesh must remain steadfast with its planning, actions, and overall policies.
Successfully navigating through an increasingly volatile world while continuing with our growth trajectory and getting closer to achieving both short term and long term goals should be what the nation prioritizes in 2023.
