Bangladesh Govt. Sets 7.5% GDP Growth Target for FY23

The government of Bangladesh has set an ambitious economic growth target of 7.5% for the next fiscal year of 2023. This high target is set despite new challenges such as rising commodities prices and recovery from Covid-19 shockwaves.

Govt. has set such an ambitious goal due to Bangladesh’s economic resiliency and ongoing mega projects.

State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam said “We set the target after analysing everything, including the country's economic ability and taking into account the mega projects that would be implemented by this time. We will continue our efforts to achieve the goal."

This growth target is higher than projected by international organizations such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). World Bank projected that Bangladesh's GDP would grow by 6.7 per cent in FY23, while the ADB expected the economy to expand by 7.1 per cent.

Experts pointed out that achieving this target is possible, however global economic deteriorating situation could make this unachievable. One such worry is rising inflation. The Budget unveiled in June 2021 set inflation at 5.3%. This was later revised to 5.7%, however, inflation jumped to 6.17% in February 2022. This was the highest recorded in 16 months.

On a positive note, domestic crop production is expected to remain strong. According to the government's projection, the size of the economy would be $512 billion, or Tk 44,12,849 crore in FY23, while it was Tk 38,95,483 crore in FY22.