GDP growth 7.8pc, inflation 5.6pc targeted

In the new fiscal 2018-19, the government has set a target of achieving 7.8 percent GDP growth while keeping the inflation down to 5.6 percent, reports BSS.

While placing the FY19 budget in Jatiya Sangsand on Thursday, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said GDP growth rate will be 7.8 percent and inflation will come down to 5.6 percent by the end of the fiscal 2018-19.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has set our next target of becoming a happy and prosperous country by 2041. Following the roadmap set out in two Five-Year Plans spanning from 2011 to 2020, we are progressing towards that desired target,” he said.

“In the 21st century, our average growth rate, so far, has been 6.6 percent and during the last couple of years it has been over 7 percent,” Muhith added.

According to the provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the growth rate will be 7.65 percent in current fiscal 2017-18. Based on this strong footing, the Finance Minister said: “we have started formulating our perspective plan 2021-2041.”

Although the agricultural production suffered a major setback due to flood in the beginning of the current fiscal, Muhith said, the production of Aman and Boro remained satisfactory, thanks to the subsidy and supply of agricultural inputs to farmers.

Overall, in the current fiscal, the target of food grains production has been set at 4.07 crore metric tonnes. Besides, a solid domestic demand induced by increased personal consumption and government expenditure has made positive impact on growth.

“Furthermore, the upward trend in global growth and trade will stimulate our exports, foreign remittance flow and foreign investment,” the Finance Minister said.

Despite the fact that there is a downward trend in food inflation due to increased agricultural production supported by efficient supply management, non-food inflation is ticking up under the influence of rising global commodity prices. The food and non-food inflation in April 2018 were 7.3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively.