Worker remittances record 6% growth despite COVID-19

June 11, 2020: Despite the economic slow down across the world due to COVID-19, the workers' remittances in the country grew by 6 percent during first nine months (July-March), 2019-20 as compared to same period of last year, Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20 said on Thursday.

The survey added that the present government took measures to increase remittances through enhancing outreach, reimbursement of the T.T. Charges Scheme and improvements in the payment system.

Thus during FY 2019 there was a 9.2 percent increase in workers' remittances which reached $21.7 billion.

It was expected that same trend will continue in FY2020. During July-March FY 2020, remittances reached $17 billion as compared to $16 billion in same period last year, with a growth of 6 percent.

On year on year basis, remittances witnessed a growth of 9.3 percent in March 2020, recorded $1.9 billion as compared to $1.7 billion same period last year.

Due to COVID-19 there is slow growth in global remittances mainly due to decelerating growth in advanced economies, lower oil prices and weakening of currencies of some of the source countries against the US dollar.

The document added that historically growth in remittances has always mitigated some of the impacts of the negative trade balance on the current account. However in FY2018, the flattening of worker's remittances compounded the current account deficit due to a ballooning trade deficit.

APP