Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali has lowered the GDP growth objective compared to his predecessor’s 2023 aim, citing pressure on the Bangladeshi economy from a number of macroeconomic factors, such as inflation and currency devaluation.
The minister’s Tk 7.97 trillion budget for the 2024–25 fiscal year, which was presented to parliament on Thursday, called for a little increase in the growth rate to 6.75 percent.
Prior to the election, AHM Mustafa Kamal had established a growth target of 7.5 percent for the fiscal year 2023–2024. Later, the amended budget lowered it to 6.5 percent. Still, the administration has failed to meet that goal as well.
In his budget speech, the minister stated that the adoption of sensible and suitable policy measures is keeping GDP growth momentum strong.
According to him, the country’s average growth rate from FY 2009–10 to FY 2022–2023 was 6.71 percent, ranking among the highest globally. It should be mentioned that in FY 2018–19, just one year prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, the nation saw record GDP growth of 7.88 percent.
The minister stated that Bangladesh achieved 7.10 percent, 5.78 percent, and 5.82 percent [provisional] growth in 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24, respectively, in spite of all the hardships brought on by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and other worldwide turmoil.
He referred to these accomplishments as proof of the economy’s innate strength in the nation.
“All appropriate support will be sustained to promote agricultural and industrial production in order to sustain this growth in the future. The right implementation of significant infrastructure projects and the approval of action plans targeted at boosting export revenue and remittances will work in tandem to help achieve the targeted GDP growth.”
