Bangladesh sets 7.5% GDP growth target for FY23

The growth projection was shared at a meeting of the fiscal coordination council chaired by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal recently.

At the meeting, the inflation rate for FY23 was projected at 5.5 per cent. When the budget for the current fiscal was unveiled in June last year, the inflation goal was set at 5.3 per cent. It was later revised upwards to 5.7 per cent as prices went up for a combination of multiple factors.

"We set the target after analysing everything, including the country's economic ability and taking into account the mega projects that would be implemented by this time. We will continue our efforts to achieve the goal," Alam was quoted as saying by Bangladeshi media reports.

The growth target is higher than the forecasts by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The World Bank has projected that Bangladesh's GDP would grow by 6.7 per cent in FY23, while the ADB’s projection is 7.1 per cent.

Alam sees the Russia-Ukraine war as a big problem and blamed the conflict for rising inflation.

Inflation jumped to 6.17 per cent in February, the highest in 16 months, driven by soaring costs of foods.

The inflation outlook has worsened due to the war in Ukraine and associated sanctions that resulted in higher global commodity prices, said the World Bank in its latest report on Bangladesh.

Non-food prices are likely to remain elevated as well, driven by an increase in transportation costs and the knock-on effects on other products, said the global lender.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)