RIZWAN BHATTI

KARACHI: Inflow of home remittances fell sharply, ie, over 19.3 percent during the first month of this fiscal year, mainly due to volatility in the exchange market.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country received workers’ remittances amounting to $ 2.027 billion in July 2023 compared to $ 2.511 billion in July 2022, depicting a decline of $ 484 million.

Month-on-month basis, workers’ remittances decreased by 7.3 percent or $ 160 million in July 2023 as some $ 2.187 billion inflows arrived in June 2023.

Analysts said volatility in the exchange market is a major reason behind decline in the official inflows of home remittances. Overseas Pakistanis are getting attractive rate in the grey market of which the inflows through legal channel is one decline. The SBP has taken a number of measures to encourage the arrival of workers’ remittance through official channel, they added.

Remittance inflows during the first month of this fiscal year were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA). Home remittance from the USA declined by 4.1 percent to $238 million in July 2023 down from $ 248 million in July 2022. Inflows from Saudi Arabia fell 15.7 percent or $ 90 million to $486.7 million. However, despite some slow inflows from Saudi Arabia it is still the largest contributor in the overall home remittance which arrived in July 2023.

Home remittance from the UK also witnessed a downward trend and declined by 25.2 percent to $ 306 million.  Pakistan received remittance inflows from UAE worth $315 million, down by 31 percent.