nward remittance growth fell for a second month in May due mainly to the ongoing unrest in the Middle East and North Africa that has sent home thousands of migrant workers recently.
In May, migrant workers remitted $993.25 million, down from $1,001.97 million a month ago, registering a 0.9 percent fall.
The remittance, however, grew 9.9 percent in May compared to the same month last year when it was $903.05 million, according to statistics of the Bangladesh Bank.
The remittance growth in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year stood at 5.06 percent. During the July-May period, Bangladesh received $10.6 billion in remittance, up from $10.09 billion in the same period the previous fiscal year.
Remittance growth started slowing down due to a significant decrease in the net outflow of migrant workers over the past year and a half.
The number of workers going abroad in the first 11 months dropped 10.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
Also, a number of migrant workers returned home following political unrest in the Middle East countries such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen.
Mustafa K Mujeri, director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the uncertainty in the Middle East is one of the major causes behind the declining trend in remittance inflow.
The number of outgoing workers is also declining as some countries have stopped fresh manpower recruitment from Bangladesh, he added.
"We need to look for new destinations like Latin American, African and European countries," he said, adding that giving training to the workers is necessary to gain the market in Europe.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=188884
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