7.5% GDP growth target for FY24 is unrealistic: PRI

The government's target of achieving 7.5 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the next fiscal year is unrealistic given the ongoing stress in the macroeconomic zone, according to the Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh.

The current performance of export, import, remittance, and revenue mobilisation is not satisfactory, which will badly impact the country's growth in the days ahead, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the think tank.

He came up with the remarks at an event titled "Pre-budget press briefing and discussion" organised by the PRI at its office in the capital.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has recently said the economy has grown by 6.08 per cent this fiscal year.

He thinks the poor performance of the major economic indicators has narrowed the economic growth this fiscal year.

Export earnings dipped 16.52 per cent year-on-year to $3.95 billion in April, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.

It, however, was up 5.38 per cent year-on-year to $45.67 billion in the 10 months to April this year.

Import bills fell 12.33 per cent to $53.93 billion in the first nine months of 2022-23.

The fall in imports has adversely hit the country's industrial sector since the production capacity of the industries has declined, Mansur said.

Remittances, the cheapest source of US dollars for Bangladesh, declined 16.27 per cent year-on-year to $1.68 billion in April. The flow, however, was up 2.36 per cent to $17.71 billion in the first 10 months of 2022-23.