Global slowdown seen hitting Bangladesh remittances

DHAKA, Feb 23 - The global economic crisis is likely to halve Bangladeshi expatriate remittances and the number leaving to work abroad this year, a top recruiter said on Monday.

"Due to the global slowdown, recruitment (for overseas jobs) and (expatriate) remittances will fall at least by 50 percent," Golam Mostafa, president of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BIRA) told a news conference.

State-managed BIRA is the principal agent in the country recruiting Bangladeshi workers for foreign employment.

Nearly 875,000 Bangladeshis went abroad officially in 2008 against 832,000 in the previous year.

The total remittances sent by five million expatriate workers was $9 billion in the year against $7 billion in the 2007.

"But due to the current slowdown overseas recruitment is likely to be curtailed and many expatriates may lose jobs, affecting remittances very badly," Mostafa said.

Mostafa suggested the Bangladesh government should immediately launch vigorous diplomatic efforts to keep the manpower export sector unaffected.

Bangladeshi expatriate workers are mainly engaged in the Middle East, the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Remittances from Bangladeshis are the country's second biggest source of foreign income after exports of ready-made garments which fetch around $10 billion annually.