Final GDP growth rate fell to 5.78pc

Staff Correspondent : The gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2022-23 was set at seven and a half percent. Although it was shown as 6.03 percent provisionally last May. However, the final GDP growth rate could not be maintained. Finally, it stands at 5.78 percent. This information came out in the report published by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Since the beginning of the last financial year, the dollar crisis has become more pronounced, import restrictions and large reduction in LC opening have resulted in lower growth in the industrial sector, government spending cuts and austerity policies, disruption of power generation due to energy crisis and overall slowdown in the services sector have had a negative impact on the economy. The effect of this is seen in the GDP growth figure.
Meanwhile, the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of the current financial year (July-September) has stood at 6.07 percent. This is the first time BBS has released the marginal GDP calculation in accordance with the loan conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This account was also published on Thursday.
As published by BBS, it can be seen that although the growth in the country’s agricultural production increased last fiscal year, it decreased significantly in the industrial and service sectors. In FY 2022-23, GDP growth in agriculture increased by 3.37 percent, which was 3.05 percent in the previous fiscal year i.e. FY 2021-22.
Although the growth in the industrial sector has slowed down to 8.37 percent in the last financial year, which was 9.86 percent in the previous year. And the growth in service sector has decreased to 5.37 percent in 2022-23 fiscal year, which was 6.26 percent in 2021-22 fiscal year.
Among the industrial sectors, the power and gas sector was the worst performing. In this sector, the growth in the fiscal year 2022-23 stood at 2.46 percent, which was 6.15 percent in the previous fiscal year. In this, the growth in the power sector has decreased from eight quarters to three and forty percent. And the growth of gas has decreased further from 0.61 percent negative to 1.84 percent negative. In addition, the growth in the construction sector last fiscal year has decreased to 6.98 percent, which was 8.71 percent in 2021-22 fiscal year.
According to BBS data, growth in large industries halved last fiscal year. The growth rate in this industry in the fiscal year 2022-23 is 8.53 percent. However, the growth rate in large industries in 2021-22 financial year was 15.68 percent. However, the growth rate of small and medium industries has doubled in the last financial year. This rate was 9.15 percent, which was 4.84 percent in 2021-22 fiscal year. Besides, the growth in cottage industry last fiscal year was 10.01 percent, which was 11.12 percent in 2022-23 fiscal year.
Within the services sector, the growth in the wholesale and retail sales sector decreased to 5.37 percent, which was 8.46 percent in FY 2021-22. Besides, the growth of financial and insurance sector in 2022-23 fiscal year stood at 2.55 percent, which was 5.87 percent in 2021-22 fiscal year. Besides, growth in both education and health care sectors has decreased significantly in the last financial year. The growth rate in these two sectors is 5.53 percent and 7.22 percent respectively. In the fiscal year 2021-22, the growth rate in these two sectors was 7.87 percent and 9.88 percent respectively.
In the quarterly analysis, BBS showed that the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of the last financial year was 8.76 percent on a point-to-point basis. In the second quarter (October-December) it decreased to 7.47 percent. Growth was at its worst in the third quarter (January-March), at just 2.06 percent. However, in the last quarter (April-June), growth increased to 6.24 percent.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of the current financial year i.e. the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24, the GDP has again decreased slightly to 6.07 percent. Of this, on a point-to-point basis at constant prices, the growth of the agriculture sector in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 was 0.84 percent, which was 3.47 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23. Besides, the growth rate in agriculture in the first quarter of the last financial year was 2.07 percent.
In the first quarter of the current financial year, the growth of the industrial sector was 9.67 percent, which was 11.41 percent in the last quarter of the last fiscal year. However, in the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, the growth rate in the industry was 7.17 percent. And in the first quarter of the current financial year, the growth rate of the service sector was 3.96 percent, which was 2.87 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23. Although the growth of service sector in the first quarter of last financial year was 12.87 percent.
According to BBS, the per capita GDP at the end of last financial year stood at 2 lakh 62 thousand 868 taka, which was 2 lakh 31 thousand 861 taka in 2021-22 financial year. And at the end of the last financial year, the national income per capita increased to 2 lakh 73 thousand 360 taka, which was 2 lakh 41 thousand 47 taka at the end of 2021-22 financial year.
Incidentally, the World Bank has predicted that Bangladesh’s economic growth will slow down in January this year due to high inflation. Besides, the organization predicts that the country’s foreign exchange reserves will be low.