The pressure on the country’s foreign currency reserves has intensified further due to a sharp decline in remittances to a 41-month low in September and export earnings falling short of their monthly target by US $ 326.7 million.
It may be mentioned here industries have been impacted negatively by the dollar crisis in the country.
In September, remittances totalled US $ 1.34 billion, marking a nearly 13 per cent drop from the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank data even if exports, a crucial source of foreign currency, amounted to US $ 4.3 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of about 10.4 per cent but the lowest figure in three months, as reported by the Export Promotion Bureau.
These twin developments, combined with the central bank’s reluctance to make significant policy changes ahead of elections, are expected to deepen the pressure on foreign currency reserves in the coming months.
As of 26th September, foreign currency reserves stood at US $ 21.15 billion.
Meanwhile, economists and bankers anticipate that official remittances, which have been declining since April, may not recover anytime soon due to the widening exchange rate premium—the difference between the formal and informal market exchange rates.
Currently, the official exchange rate, set by the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) per the unofficial directive of the central bank, is Taka 110, while the exchange rate in the informal market hovers around Taka 118.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
