The country’s economy is facing a challenging phase, the beginning of the new financial year has been disappointing. The shadow of the persistent dollar crisis is looming, deeply affecting various sectors.
Inflation, remittances, foreign exchange reserves, defaulted loans, exports and revenues – all these key indicators are not promising. Almost every economic index, which was once strong, has seen a significant decline in the last one and a half years.
Unfortunately, most of these economic indicators have worsened further in the first quarter (July-September) of the current financial year. Overall, the overall stability of the macro economy is now seriously threatened.
In the months of October to December, the country prepares for upcoming national elections and with it comes increased political unrest. During election periods, business activities slow down, which is made worse due to various uncertainties.
Economists are unanimous that there is little hope of rapid improvement in the poor condition of the economy. Over the past two years, countries around the world have aggressively raised interest rates to stem rising inflation and reduce the money supply.
However, Bangladesh began implementing similar measures a year and a half later. Now, Bangladesh Bank is taking advice from economists. However, experts believe that the crisis is unlikely to be resolved effectively due to the delay in decision-making.
Minister of State for Planning, Shamsul Alam, identifies inflation control as the primary challenge facing the current economy. In an interview with Prothom Alo he said, “At present, the most important challenge for the economy is to manage inflation. The government is giving top priority to controlling inflation even from a political point of view. There is a slight decline in inflation in the month of September. She has come.” Due to various proactive measures. This indicates that our implemented initiatives are yielding positive results. “We expect inflation to ease further during October-November.”
Shamsul Alam also highlighted several initiatives taken to stabilize the value of the dollar. However, due to high dollar prices in the open market, the flow of remittances through informal channels (hundi) has increased.
According to him, it will take some time to address and stabilize the reserves. The increase in reserves is dependent on the increase in export earnings and the extent of remittances through legitimate channels.