Bangladesh has achieved a good economic record despite facing challenges in the outgoing fiscal year by attaining a GDP rate of 7.28 per cent and a per capita income of USD 1,610.

Planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the per capita income increased with a steady rise in the country’s economic growth in FY 2016–17.

He also said there was no scope to deny that Bangladesh recorded the highest-ever GDP growth in the outgoing year amid big challenges.

Bangladesh has broken all records to register the formidable GDP growth in the last fiscal year (FY 2016–17) despite a fall in major indicators such as remittances, private sector investments, and sluggish growth of exports. Moreover, the per capita income of Bangladesh reached USD 1,610 in the last fiscal year, surpassing estimates made in the report of the yearly economic survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic.

Getting beyond the 6 per cent growth barrier was an important milestone, and the focus now should be to build on this ground-breaking success.

In the face of all odds, especially a weak banking sector, adverse affects of climate change and the handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis, the economic success was a testament to the effort and innovation of Bangladeshi workers and entrepreneurs, the minister said.

In exports, too, the country managed to achieve the highest growth so far, with USD 35 billion earned in the last fiscal year despite a slow phase of export growth.

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export earnings from the apparel industry—the lifeline of foreign currency earnings—saw only a 0.20 per cent rise to USD 28.15 billion, the lowest on record in the last one and a half decades. However, Bangladesh’s overall export earnings stood at USD 34.83 billion in FY’17, which is 1.68 per cent higher than the USD 34.25 billion a year ago. It is also the lowest in the last 15 years.

About the country’s economic situation over the years, a member of the General Economic Division (GED), Prof. Shamsul Alam, said Bangladesh passed a good year in terms of economic growth as all its indicators were almost positive.

He expressed hope that Bangladesh would be able to achieve this record next year if the political situation remained stable.

He said Bangladesh’s one million workers abroad were the main remittance drivers.

However, the remittance inflow into Bangladesh dropped to USD 12.76 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 14.93 billion the previous year, marking a 14.48 per cent decline year-on-year despite several moves taken by the government to boost the inflow.

The remittance in the 2016–17 fiscal year was also the lowest in the last five years, according to latest Bangladesh Bank data.

Last year, the poverty rate came down to 22.3 per cent from the 23.5 per cent of the previous year, a decline that Dr Alam described as remarkable.

He, however, said Bangladesh faced two major challenges last year—flash floods and the Rohhingya crisis.

Six districts in the ‘haor’ and low-lying areas (Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Moulavibazar, Netrokona, Sunamganj and Sylhet) were affected by flash floods. The natural disaster struck in the end of March 2017, at least a month earlier than the usual flood season. Early and heavy rainfall along with sudden rush of upstream water were the primary causes of the floods.

The flash floods affected 46.7 lakh people from 10.3 lakh households, which is about one-fourth of the total population of the six affected districts.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) estimated the loss of Boro rice production to be 15.8 lakh tonnes. The loss was equivalent to 8.3 per cent of the national average of Boro production. This was about 52.2 per cent of the total Boro rice production of the six districts concerned.

In monetary terms, the estimated loss was about Tk 5,300 crore, equivalent to 3.7 per cent of agriculture crop sector’s gross domestic product.

Besides, the Rohingya crisis exerted an unexpected pressure on the economy of Bangladesh as over six lakh Rohingyas took shelter in Cox’s Bazar district.

Bangladesh had to shoulder the burden out of humanitarian considerations.

Meanwhile, the government initiated a project of Tk 2,312.15 crore to provide temporary shelter to the Rohingyas at Bhasan Char in Hatia upazila of Noakhali district.

The project titled ‘Ashrayan-3’ involves the construction of infrastructure for the housing of 100,000 displaced Myanmar citizens and the building of island infrastructure at Bhasan Char of Char Ishwar Union under Hatia upazila of Noakhali district. It will be implemented by the Bangladesh Navy between December 2017 and November 2019 to shelter the Rohingyas.

To accommodate more than 100,000 people, some 1,440 barrack houses and 120 shelters in 120 clusters of villages will be constructed.