Monthly remittances cross $3b mark for first time ever

Author: Agencies

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistan in a month crossed the $3 billion mark for the first time in history, reaching $3.1 billion in April 2022 and extending support to foreign exchange reserves and rupee against the US dollar.

According to statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday, remittances grew by 7.6 percent during the first 10 months (July-April) of the current fiscal year 2021-22 to reach $ 26.1 billion as compared to $24.22 billion during the same period of the last financial year 2020-21.

In terms of growth, remittances during April 2022 increased by 11.2 percent on a month-on-month basis and 11.9 percent on a year-on-year basis as the country received $2.81 billion worth of remittances in March 2022 and $2.79 billion in April 2021.

Remittances’ inflows during April 2022 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($707 million), the United Arab Emirates ($614 million), the United Kingdom ($484 million), and the United States of America ($346 million).

With two months left of the current financial year, it is expected that remittances will be near $32 billion for the first time in history.

The increasing inflows of remittances have been attributed to the seasonal impact as traditionally, remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis are higher ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr or Ramazan due to religious obligations such as Zakat, Sadqat, Fitra, and expenditures on account of Eid festivities.

Besides seasonal impact, the facility of Roshan Digital Accounts to overseas Pakistan, coupled with incentive schemes for banks, also reflected the healthy inflows of remittances in the country. The Roshan Digital Account initiative of the former government has fetched over $4.2 billion so far.

Remittances are key to the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The workers’ remittances have been continuing their unprecedented run of remaining above $2 billion since June 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said. Earlier, the workers’ remittances received by Pakistan hit an all-time high of $2.8 billion in March 2022.